# John Boehner to resign. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 25, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478 "2015-09-25T13:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/1 "2015-09-25T13:37:44Z")
Very interesting. Boehner finally has had enough of dealing with the right wingers in his party. I assume this means he’ll be able to avoid a shutdown and get a continuing resolution passed. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/2 "2015-09-25T13:46:38Z")
If he had integrity, he’d say something like “You know, 99% of the stuff I said about Obama over the years was 100% bullshit. Our party needs to stop the anti-Obama nonsense and get our collective ass back to work. The truth is, Obama tried to work with me. I just couldn’t work with the fucking nutcases that make up the Tea Party faction.” ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/3 "2015-09-25T13:48:40Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Very interesting. Boehner finally has had enough of dealing with the right wingers in his party. > > I assume this means he’ll be able to avoid a shutdown and get a continuing resolution passed. [Linky](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/us/boehner-will-resign-from-congress.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0) > [@New York Times](#): > > WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner will resign from Congress and give up his House seat at the end of October, according to aides in his office. Who gets his seat? What is the procedure? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/4 "2015-09-25T13:55:00Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > [Linky](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/us/boehner-will-resign-from-congress.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=0) > > Who gets his seat? What is the procedure? [Special election.](http://history.house.gov/Institution/Vacancies-Successors/Vacancies-Successors/) I’m curious about how far-right the Republicans go when picking the next speaker. Did Boehner do some vote counting and realize he was going to lose to a right-wing coup? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/5 "2015-09-25T13:56:38Z")
There will have to be a special election. When the election actually happens is another question altogether. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/6 "2015-09-25T13:56:46Z")
Either the inmates formally take over the asylum next, guaranteeing a shutdown that will last much longer than a week or so - or there’s somehow going to be a Coalition of the Sane between most of the Democrats and the RINO’s that can use its majority to elect a sane Speaker (probably one of the RINO’s) and, you know, actually _govern_. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/7 "2015-09-25T13:58:31Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Did Boehner do some vote counting and realize he was going to lose to a right-wing coup? It’s hard to see what might have changed since the last few such showdowns. Maybe the Pope shamed him into realizing what he’d actually been doing for the last few years? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/8 "2015-09-25T14:00:31Z")
Holy fucking shit. To say I didn’t see this one coming is an understatement, to say the least. This does free up Boehner to do whatever he wants about the possible shutdown, without having to worry about a revolt if he makes a deal with the Dems to keep the government open. I’d say the likelihood of a shutdown just dropped considerably. But man, there’s gonna be quite a wrangle over who gets to wield that gavel beginning in November. Dust off your lawn chairs and get ready to pop a shitload of popcorn! ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/9 "2015-09-25T14:05:15Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Holy fucking shit. > > To say I didn’t see this one coming is an understatement, to say the least. Summed up my feelings entirely. My wife jokes that he needs a better paying job to pay for his tanner addiction. I see Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise are the house majority leader and majority whip. When Cantor was the Majority leader I think everyone saw him as the successor to Boehner, but I haven’t heard much about these two guys. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/10 "2015-09-25T14:05:47Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Either the inmates formally take over the asylum next, guaranteeing a shutdown that will last much longer than a week or so - or there’s somehow going to be a Coalition of the Sane between most of the Democrats and the RINO’s that can use its majority to elect a sane Speaker (probably one of the RINO’s) and, you know, actually _govern_. So, what are the odds on option A and option B, then? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/11 "2015-09-25T14:06:40Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’d say the likelihood of a shutdown just dropped considerably. He’s now a lame duck, with even less power (if any) than before. Doesn’t that make it \*more \*likely the terrorists will win? > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > So, what are the odds on option A and option B, then? Sigh. 99-1, and the 1 is just an expression of hope. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/12 "2015-09-25T14:20:07Z")
And here I thought it was his allergies acting up during the Pope’s speech. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/13 "2015-09-25T14:22:08Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > He’s now a lame duck, with even less power (if any) than before. Doesn’t that make it \*more \*likely the terrorists will win? No, because the only reason not to cave to the Democrats and let them pass the clean CR with the moderate GOP votes was the threat of losing the Speaker’s gavel. Which obviously is moot now. He basically defused the bomb by sacrificing himself. Noble, in its way. Not enough to undo some of the stunts he’s pulled, but he always struck me as a relatively decent guy stuck in a completely untenable political position. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/14 "2015-09-25T14:22:50Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > He’s now a lame duck, with even less power (if any) than before. Doesn’t that make it \*more \*likely the terrorists will win? Now he can simply allow a vote on a clean CR and there will be enough sane Republicans to join the Democrats. Easy-peasy. The process of choosing another Speaker- not so easy and considerably scarier. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/15 "2015-09-25T14:26:42Z")
Right - the chance of a government shutdown next week just went down by a lot. On the other hand, the odds of a long-term budget deal that gets rid of sequestration (which was something to hopefully be negotiated in the next two months) seem a lot more shaky. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/16 "2015-09-25T14:27:30Z")
I never thought super highly of Boehner, but he was an establishment Republican which is a good thing. The WaPo is reporting Boehner intended to give up the Speakership last year (due to four years of him not being able to do a lot because of the Tea Party caucus) but when Cantor lost his primary election he didn’t have a clear-cut successor so he was left unsure of how to proceed. The ultra-conservative who want to shut down the government forever are still a minority of the caucus (several dozen), but the issue is they are a threat to establishment Republicans in very conservative districts–so many establishment Republicans have been afraid to side with Boehner over them in tough votes. Likewise we may see that play out during the leadership vote, we could see the establishment GOP bullied into putting a hardcore Tea Party Speaker in office. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/17 "2015-09-25T14:28:40Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > He basically defused the bomb by sacrificing himself. It seems just as likely to me that it’s a fit of pique. > [@](#): > > Noble, in its way. Or maybe cowardly. Depends on how the vote goes. As for the successor: Damn. I had to look it up. The GOP Majority Leader, next in line, is somebody named Kevin McCarthy, from the Bakersfield, CA area. Anybody here willing to claim they know anything about him, or his own power base, other than the Teabaggerism in[the Wiki article?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_McCarthy_(California_politician)) ---
**Author:** ![John\_D\_Adamo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@John\_D\_Adamo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_D_Adamo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/18 "2015-09-25T14:31:48Z")
WOW. Bold move. And I don’t blame him after having to play sanity police with the nutcase Tea Party brigade as long as he has. Who are the Republicans going to put up now? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/19 "2015-09-25T14:34:32Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > It seems just as likely to me that it’s a fit of pique. > > Or maybe cowardly. Depends on how the vote goes. Oh great… and just in time for [Halloween](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXlcm1el1D0)… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/20 "2015-09-25T14:39:24Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Right - the chance of a government shutdown next week just went down by a lot. > > On the other hand, the odds of a long-term budget deal that gets rid of sequestration (which was something to hopefully be negotiated in the next two months) seem a lot more shaky. Yeah, unless Boehner can rustle up an agreement in the next five weeks, it ain’t happening. The GOP wants to lift the sequester on military spending only, while the Dems want any relaxation of the sequester to be across the board. The question is, what does the Orange Man want? Or at least, how much is he willing to give the Dems on non-military spending in order to get rid of the sequester on military spending, and will it be enough to satisfy the Dems? Whatever deal he’s willing to make, he can probably find three dozen semi-sane GOP Congresscritters to vote with him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478.md?page=2)