John Boehner to resign.

[RTFirefly]

@Frank

The governor has to wait until there’s a vacancy. As long as Boehner still holds the seat, it’s not vacant. Yes, I know it would be sensible to go ahead and set it up now, but it can’t be done legally.

After all, he could always change his mind between now and the date his resignation becomes effective. So there’s a grain of sense to it.

[elucidator]

Gotta wonder, why he didn’t step down as Speaker but keep his seat until the next cycle. After all, those guys run every two years, they set up their campaign donation committees two minutes after they are sworn in. They have to. So, why leave in a month?

There is something scurrying around in the underbrush, here. Health?

[Procrustus]

@elucidator

Gotta wonder, why he didn’t step down as Speaker but keep his seat until the next cycle. After all, those guys run every two years, they set up their campaign donation committees two minutes after they are sworn in. They have to. So, why leave in a month?

There is something scurrying around in the underbrush, here. Health?

I think after being Speaker it’s not much fun to just be one of 435. As I recall, there have never been many “former speakers” remaining except those that become “minority leaders.”

[Exapno_Mapcase]

FOX News mentioned Paul Ryan as a serious contender if he wanted to run. He’s Chair of the Budget Committee, i.e. already powerful, and is also on the critical Ways and Means Committee. He also got a busload of IOUs by campaigning for people while he was the VP nominee in 2012. He’s conservative but not ultra-conservative. It’s an intriguing possibility.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

Ryan has already ruled himself out. I’m not sure it’s the same as ruling out a presidential bid (that is, it means yes), but it’s definitely less of a mealy mouthed denial than most presidential ones.

[elucidator]

I am told there is a video of Cruz having a public orgasm. Not going to link to it. I have standards. Not many. Some.

[wonky]

BTW, freepers want Louie Gohmert.

I laughed. Then I shivered. Then I laughed again.

While shivering.

[BobLibDem]

Cruz is showing a definite lack of class. It’s quite unseemly to dance on someone’s grave like he is. Thank God he’ll never be president.

[John_D_Adamo]

@Procrustus

I think after being Speaker it’s not much fun to just be one of 435. As I recall, there have never been many “former speakers” remaining except those that become “minority leaders.”

Hastertstayed 8 months after as a regular rep although I’m sure there’s a much better/longer example. It does seem rare, though.

[not_what_you_d_expect]

I heard that John Boehner has been working for 20 years to bring a Pope to congress. I suspect he’s been wanting to leave for awhile, but not until this long sought after goal was accomplished.

I would like to think that the words spoken by the pope had a powerful affect on him and that’s why he’s stepping down.

[ElvisL1ves]

fWIW, he said he decidedonly this morning. But then

he also recalled emotionally when he and the Pope found themselves alone during the visit Thursday – something Boehner, a devout Catholic, had sought since taking the helm of the House GOP caucus.

“The Pope puts his arm around me and kind of pulls me to him and says please pray for me. Who am I to pray for the Pope? But I did,” Boehner said, struggling to hold back tears.

Wrong. He’s never struggled to hold back tears.

Lewis Black may have it:

Did Boehner resign because of the Republican Far Right? Or did the Pope say “John, you don’t have to deal with assholes anymore, Go In Peace.”

[Folacin]

@BobLibDem

Cruz is showing a definite lack of class. It’s quite unseemly to dance on someone’s grave like he is. Thank God he’ll never be president.

Saw a Maddow tweet contemplating Cruz as Speaker. There is no requirement for the Speaker to be a representative, and he’s already defacto leader of the House tea party caucus, so why not?

Of course, that puts him two steps from the Presidency, so that is pretty scary . . .

[Ukulele_Ike]

Headline: Boehner Slips Out.

Sorry. That’s been in my head since this morning.

[Ravenman]

@not_what_you_d_expect

I heard that John Boehner has been working for 20 years to bring a Pope to congress. I suspect he’s been wanting to leave for awhile, but not until this long sought after goal was accomplished.

I read a story this morning – can’t find it now – that reported a rumor that Boehner would not have run for Speaker again this year had Cantor not been defeated in his reelection effort. It does indeed seem that Boehner was just about done anyway, and that this budget/shutdown crisis was probably the last straw.

[BrainGlutton]

A postmortem:

Boehner’s time in the hot seat will not be looked back on with any fondness. In fact, it’s hard to see him as anything but a massive failure. He found himself wholly incapable of controlling his caucus. He accomplished virtually nothing of note. He showed no aptitude for managing the media. His biggest achievements were driving the government repeatedly into a ditch, raising oodles of cash, and keeping Washington’s wine and tobacco merchants in business. He was the least-popular speaker in three decades.

Boehner can’t take all of the blame. He became speaker during a time when the internal mechanics of the American political system had already ground to a halt. And they show no signs of restarting any time soon. Congress is clearly incapable of functioning in its current state. That’s somewhat beyond Boehner’s control. So was the Tea Party movement, which cheered his downfall on Friday.

Even so, there’s no question that Boehner played his hand terribly. His biggest savior was probably House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi—who, whatever you think of her personally, has maintained an iron grip on her membership. Pelosi bailed Boehner out over and over again, corralling the votes necessary to ram through whatever paltry legislation Congress has been capable of producing in the past few years over the objections of House Republicans. In recent days, there’s even been speculation that Pelosi would save Boehner from a possible coup attempt if Republicans tried to overthrow him over the Planned Parenthood dispute. That would surely have been a singular humiliation.

[Ravenman]

Shocking news! Salon declares Republican politician a failure!

[running_coach]

@BobLibDem

Cruz is showing a definite lack of class. It’s quite unseemly to dance on someone’s grave like he is. Thank God he’ll never be president.

Not his first tango.

[wolfpup]

@Exapno_Mapcase

FOX News mentioned Paul Ryan as a serious contender if he wanted to run. He’s Chair of the Budget Committee, i.e. already powerful, and is also on the critical Ways and Means Committee. He also got a busload of IOUs by campaigning for people while he was the VP nominee in 2012. He’s conservative but not ultra-conservative. It’s an intriguing possibility.

“Not ultra-conservative”? Have you seen the famous Ryan budget? I’d classify him as far-right extreme conservative on most policy issues, and apparently so would Romney – that’s why he picked him in 2012 to bolster his own conservative credentials with the teabaggers. Ryan just isn’t clinically insane in the manner of Gohmert or Cruz. Sometimes I think the political landscape has shifted so far right that nowadays maybe you do indeed need to be insane to be considered “ultra conservative”.

[Rick_Kitchen]

Over/under on how many weeks before Orange John goes to work for a lobbying firm?

[Rick_Kitchen]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

He doesn’t have to. Boehner’s resignation isn’t effective until 10/30, so there’s no point.

The elections are not till November of next year. Do you think the seat will remain empty for an entire year?