# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/121 "2015-09-26T10:01:33Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Nor _he_ over _them_. No, he does \*not \*have the same power anymore as a lame duck. There are no inducements or coercions he can offer, nothing he can trade, and can even make no cajoling that anyone needs to listen to. He’s got nothing. Well, in less than a day, we went from little hope of avoiding a government shutdown to [a deal to keep the government open.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics-live/liveblog/house-speaker-john-boehner-to-resign-live-updates/#f44bbc43-fc1e-4766-a16c-bff5f157c5d2) I’m sure you’ll say that doesn’t mean anything, but it is a piece of evidence that supports the notion that he had more clout with his own extremists on Friday than he did on Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/122 "2015-09-26T13:54:20Z")
Or it means he’s finally shutting them off and working something out with the sane majority, to kick the can a little farther. No doubt you’ll find some way to call me wrong, of course; some way to claim that another Continuing Resolution with no chance of a budget is a sign of _leadership_. I actually look forward to your thoughts on the matter. [No more chance of a Grand Bargain now](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/09/26/speaker-boehner-resign-grand-bargain-obama-column/72805062/) [Ethics Committee Chair Charlie Dent](http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20150925/costello-dent-shocked-by-speaker-boehners-resignation): > [@](#): > > “It’s clear to me that the rejectionist members of our conference clearly had an influence on his decision. That’s why I’m not happy about what happened today. We still have important issues to deal with, and this will not be easier for the next guy.” > > Dent also told the newspaper, “The dynamics are this: There are anywhere from two to four dozen members who don’t have an affirmative sense of governance. They can’t get to yes. They just can’t get to yes, and so they undermine the ability of the speaker to lead. And not only do they undermine the ability of the speaker to lead, but they undermine the entire Republican conference and also help to weaken the institution of Congress itself. > > “That’s the reality,” Dent said. “Now, if we have a new speaker, is there going to be an epiphany? They won’t be happy if it’s Paul Ryan or Kevin McCarthy, who will have to make accommodations with a Democratic president and the Senate constituted the way it is.” You can blame the party’s nihilist wing all you want, but Boehner’s choice to pander to them instead of getting them under control is not a sign of strong, or even adequate, leadership. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/123 "2015-09-26T14:07:56Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Or it means he’s finally shutting them off and working something out with the sane majority, to kick the can a little farther. Yeah… > [@RTFirefly](#): > > What’s changed is that now, nobody has any leverage over _him_. > [@ISiddiqui](#): > > Exactly. He can forge kind of a grand bargain with moderate GOPers and Democrats and not have to worry about someone getting revenge on him by taking away his position. > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No doubt you’ll find some way to call me wrong, of course; some way to claim that another Continuing Resolution with no chance of a budget is a sign of _leadership_. > … > You can blame the party’s nihilist wing all you want, but Boehner’s choice to pander to them instead of getting them under control is not a sign of strong, or even adequate, leadership. Pandering to them is what he’s not doing, now. We’re talking about now. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/124 "2015-09-26T14:50:26Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Or it means he’s finally shutting them off and working something out with the sane majority, to kick the can a little farther. No doubt you’ll find some way to call me wrong, of course; Well, that’s the whole point: he’s either making a deal with the sane majority (i.e. the Dems plus a few dozen relatively sane Pubbies), or making a deal with the Wingnut Caucus on his terms rather than theirs because they’ve lost their leverage over him. He’s always had the option of making a deal with that sane majority, but the cost might well have been a revolt against him within the GOP caucus. Now, the revolt is off the table. > [@](#): > > some way to claim that another Continuing Resolution with no chance of a budget is a sign of _leadership_. I actually look forward to your thoughts on the matter. I’ll have to leave you to argue with whoever you think you’re arguing about that one. Because it ain’t me, babe. I’ve never “claim[ed] that another Continuing Resolution with no chance of a budget is a sign of _leadership_.” > [@](#): > > [No more chance of a Grand Bargain now](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/09/26/speaker-boehner-resign-grand-bargain-obama-column/72805062/) > > [Ethics Committee Chair Charlie Dent](http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20150925/costello-dent-shocked-by-speaker-boehners-resignation): You can blame the party’s nihilist wing all you want, but Boehner’s choice to pander to them instead of getting them under control is not a sign of strong, or even adequate, leadership. Again, I don’t need to defend positions I haven’t taken. Excuse me while I wander off and let you argue with whoever actually took those positions. ---
**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 26, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/125 "2015-09-26T15:34:00Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You can blame the party’s nihilist wing all you want, but Boehner’s choice to pander to them instead of getting them under control is not a sign of strong, or even adequate, leadership. Are you under the impression that Boehner never punished the whacko birds for undermining him? I ask you seriously because you seem to post these opinions without knowing very much about what Boehner did or didn’t do. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/126 "2015-09-26T15:55:12Z")
[Peter King: Boehner exit means ‘the crazies have taken over the party’](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/john-boehner-resigns-peter-king-reaction-214083) > [@Politico](#): > > “I think it signals the crazies have taken over the party, taken over to the party that you can remove a speaker of the House who’s second in line to be president, a constitutional officer in the middle of his term with no allegations of impropriety, a person who’s honest and doing his job. This has never happened before in our country," King said in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Friday afternoon. "He could have stayed on.” > > [snip] > > Boehner’s decision to resign is “like throwing raw meat” to more extreme factions of the caucus who are trying to “hijack and blackmail the party,” King said. “They’re not going to see it as a gesture of peace, they’re going to just look for more.” > > “I think whoever runs for speaker should make it clear that he’s not going to give in to these people. We’re not going to appease them," he concluded. "The time for appeasement is over.” A small hint, if you will: Burning down the old windmill didn’t work permanently last time. Perhaps burying the Monster in the ice at the North Pole will work better? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/127 "2015-09-26T15:58:39Z")
Until global warming thaws him out and he starts feeding on polar bears. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/128 "2015-09-26T16:33:22Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Until global warming thaws him out and he starts feeding on polar bears. What, that nice Captain America boy? He’d ask them politely to share a salmon. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/129 "2015-09-26T17:51:37Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > 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! Sadly, I **did**. You can see the writing on the wall, in the South. The GOP has further to fall, before the final, self-destruct button is pushed. **My Prognostications** The 2020 GOP Convention **will not be able** to pick a Presidential Nominee, due to infighting. 25% odds of an **internal** assassination plot, by 2020, over ideology. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/130 "2015-09-26T18:32:51Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Are you under the impression that Boehner never punished the whacko birds for undermining him? There were a few challengers who lost committee seats, but the faction never lost their effective control of the House agenda, did they? > [@Peremensoe](#): > > Pandering to them is what he’s not doing, now. We’re talking about now. Yes, now it’s surrendering to them. ---
**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 26, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/131 "2015-09-26T20:40:24Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > There were a few challengers who lost committee seats, but the faction never lost their effective control of the House agenda, did they?. Again, Boehner pushed through votes on keeping the government open, not defaulting on the debt, and raising taxes that the whacko birds didn’t want to vote on. I maintain that Boehner did the best in a completely impossible position. If I were to be generous with your criticism, it would be like you saying that some military commander was incompetent because he lost a battle in which he was outnumbered five to one. If I were less generous with what I think your criticism really is, it would boil down to, “All Republicans suck, just for different reasons.” ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/132 "2015-09-26T22:12:21Z")
I just read the following article on fivethirtyeight. [The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out | FiveThirtyEight](http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-hard-line-republicans-who-pushed-john-boehner-out/) Can someone please help me understand the nuts and bolts of how this would have worked had an actual revolt occurred in the Republican caucus? It looks like the breakdown by party is 247 Republicans and 188 Democrats. If 38 Republicans voted for a different speaker, say Louis Gohmert, that would still leave Boehner with 219 votes for him as speaker. Let’s assume the Tea party wing has as many as 60 votes. That would mean a new vote for speaker would go 188 for Pelosi, 187 for Boehner, and 60 for Gohmert. But if that happened, wouldn’t the Tea partiers be worse off? The way I see it, the insurgent Republicans would need at least 189 votes against Boehner. Is their that many Tea Party Republicans in the House? My question is how exactly would they have ousted Boehner without making Pelosi the speaker in the process? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/133 "2015-09-26T22:32:34Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I just read the following article on fivethirtyeight. [The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out | FiveThirtyEight](http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/the-hard-line-republicans-who-pushed-john-boehner-out/) > > Can someone please help me understand the nuts and bolts of how this would have worked had an actual revolt occurred in the Republican caucus? It looks like the breakdown by party is 247 Republicans and 188 Democrats. If 38 Republicans voted for a different speaker, say Louis Gohmert, that would still leave Boehner with 219 votes for him as speaker. Let’s assume the Tea party wing has as many as 60 votes. That would mean a new vote for speaker would go 188 for Pelosi, 187 for Boehner, and 60 for Gohmert. But if that happened, wouldn’t the Tea partiers be worse off? The way I see it, the insurgent Republicans would need at least 189 votes against Boehner. Is their that many Tea Party Republicans in the House? My question is how exactly would they have ousted Boehner without making Pelosi the speaker in the process? The voting process requires an absolute majority of the voters, including abstentions. As long as the Democrats only had 188 votes, new rounds of voting would take place until one side, presumably the Republicans, got 218 members to agree. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/134 "2015-09-26T22:39:55Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I maintain that Boehner did the best in a completely impossible position. I don’t know if I’d go quite so far, but I mostly agree. I think he did okay given the circumstances. I don’t think the rhetoric he used at times was necessary or acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/135 "2015-09-26T22:47:10Z")
I see. So with 38 votes, Boehner would only have 210 votes instead of the necessary 218. Is there a procedure in place in the event nobody can get the required 218 votes? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/136 "2015-09-26T23:15:01Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I see. So with 38 votes, Boehner would only have 210 votes instead of the necessary 218. Is there a procedure in place in the event nobody can get the required 218 votes? I think they just revote until someone does. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/137 "2015-09-26T23:15:06Z")
They have another vote. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/138 "2015-09-26T23:46:11Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > The GOP has further to fall, before the final, self-destruct button is pushed. ## I’m not sure about that. The central question is just how far you can push the disconnect from reality on things like taxation, social services, climate change, abortion, evolution, and immigration – and the general idea of your policies coming directly from God via voices in your head\* – before the only supporters left are a tiny lunatic fringe. ISTM that the Republican Party is very close to the finish line. I don’t know what else they could do. We’ve already heard all about how Mexicans are all rapists and murders. How Planned Parenthood must be defunded because they traffic in baby parts. How climate change is an orchestrated hoax by commies and evil scientists. What’s left? Maybe one of candidates could put a rubber chicken on his head and stand on a park bench accusing Hillary Clinton of being under the control of space aliens. Said candidate might actually see a surge in support. \*Not a joke. This was the subject of the (serious) last question in the first Republican presidential debate, and was picked by Fox News as apparently being a terrific question to ask. I believe the question was basically “have you heard from God lately, and what has He been telling you to do [in terms of policy objectives]?” ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/139 "2015-09-26T23:47:37Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > he’s finally shutting them off > [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > it’s surrendering to them. Uh huh. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478/140 "2015-09-27T01:40:19Z")
I don’t follow politics as closely as a lot of you do here but what I do see on the streets is something that I would not be surprised to see in Washington. Quite a few republicans are switching sides right now. They don’t like the liberal left but see the radical right as far more dangerous and threatening to our country. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we didn’t start seeing some serious defections among the republicans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-boehner-to-resign/732478.md?page=8)