# What if the Democrats cut a deal with Boehner on the Speakership? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 30, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023 "2013-09-30T18:36:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/21 "2013-09-30T23:31:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > How about we just drop the name Tea Party and call them what they are - anarchists. No, no. Anarchists are not just more extreme libertarians, it’s a different tradition, closely allied to Marxism. 1. Libertarians oppose government because they see it as a threat to private property. 2. Anarchists oppose government because they see it as a defender of private property. 3. Tea Partiers oppose government because it is not like it was when they were young. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/22 "2013-10-01T03:30:05Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 1. Tea Partiers oppose government because it is not like it was when they were young. Although it actually is, just a little _darker_, if you know what I mean winkwinknudgenudge… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/23 "2013-10-01T04:36:32Z")
If Boehner does sacrifice his political ass for the good of the country, I plan to be among the first rank to gleefully eat my words and applaud him for the statesman he has become. That such a splendid act emerged from such a weak vessel would be minor epiphany, and to be celebrated. > [@](#): > > …constantly forced to sing I’m A Whack-a-doodle Dandy for his half-witted caucus… Stolen. Mine. Back off. > [@](#): > > …David Brooks… creaming … jeans… Quite the image. Make a good substitute for ipecac. And if Brooks owns a pair of jeans, he sends them out to be ironed. ---
**Author:** ![Reverend\_Meade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Reverend\_Meade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverend_Meade)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/24 "2013-10-01T05:30:39Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > How about we just drop the name Tea Party and call them what they are - anarchists. As an anarchist, I find this insulting. ---
**Author:** ![Conservian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@Conservian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Conservian)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/25 "2013-10-01T10:33:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > :rolleyes: We’re on the verge of a government shutdown caused entirely by House Pub intransigence and you don’t think the House GOP is an OPPOSITION?! _sighs_ Please, spare me the drama. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/26 "2013-10-01T12:46:11Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > Yes, my thought is premised on two things–one, that **Boehner would like to keep power** , and two, that the Democrats know whoever replaces Boehner either will be in the same box, or will be a member of the Tea Party caucus, and that given that Boehner is potentially someone they can work with. They can bill it as the “Unity Speakership” or something and get David Brooks et al. creaming in their jeans. My bold. What power does Boehner have? He’s being led around by the nose in his own House. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/27 "2013-10-01T14:30:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > :rolleyes: We’re on the verge of a government shutdown caused entirely by House Pub intransigence and you don’t think the House GOP is an OPPOSITION?! Note the username and the join date. Don’t even bother. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/28 "2013-10-01T15:11:25Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > _sighs_ Please, spare me the drama. I thought that was what the entire country was saying to the House. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/29 "2013-10-01T15:22:30Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > But Boehner can be forced out earlier than next term. That’s his incentive to do a deal. I don’t see the point. He’s completely lost control of his own caucus and he certainly wouldn’t be leading the Democrats. He seems (to me) to be tired and frustrated with the whole concept. He’s staying with it because it’s his job and he’ll see it through but I can’t imagine him fighting to keep the role, especially not by allying with the Democrats. So now he gets to stay Speaker and have even LESS power? What’s he doing it for, the bigger paycheck? ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/30 "2013-10-01T15:38:14Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > What’s he doing it for, the bigger paycheck? Surely he’s achieved one of his life’s ambitions. Being Speaker is a great honor and privilege, it was Gerald Ford’s lifetime dream never achieved. More money and the best office in the Capitol are nice, but I think it’s just the honor of the job that appeals to those who seek it. One gets the feeling that he doesn’t believe half the shit that he spews and just goes through the motions. He’s utterly defeated by the job, and that job might be completely impossible for anyone given the influx of the batshit tea crowd. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/31 "2013-10-01T15:43:54Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > …One gets the feeling that he doesn’t believe half the shit that he spews and just goes through the motions. He’s utterly defeated by the job, and that job might be completely impossible for anyone given the influx of the batshit tea crowd. This. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/32 "2013-10-01T15:51:59Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > One gets the feeling that he doesn’t believe half the shit that he spews and just goes through the motions. He’s utterly defeated by the job, and that job might be completely impossible for anyone given the influx of the batshit tea crowd. Agreed. That was sort of my thought, the “dream” part of the Speaker role is dead for him. So I don’t see what would motivate him to seek a deal with Pelosi to preserve his job. If the extremists actually tried to push him out, it’d be better to die on his sword than to strike a deal with Democrats to save his crushing post. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/33 "2013-10-01T17:08:48Z")
You all make some good points. I have no idea what Boehner feels in his heart of hearts, but I don’t see this as a particularly exciting/rewarding time for him. In 95/96, Gingrich was all gung-ho and you could see he kind of enjoyed it all. If Boehner feels that way he’s good at hiding it. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/34 "2013-10-01T17:18:27Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 1. Libertarians oppose government because they see it as a threat to private property. > > 2. Anarchists oppose government because they see it as a defender of private property. > > 3. Tea Partiers oppose government because it is not like it was when they were young. Meh. The GOP oppose government _because Ronnie told them too._ As Aaron Sorkin said, a leader can lead the people across the desert, tell them to drink water from a mirage, and they’ll drink sand. _They drink the sand because they don’t know the difference._ I’m not sure in any case that Democrats would be able to get enough Democrats to vote for Boehner as Speaker to reach a majority of the House. There is a progressive caucus, believe it or not. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/35 "2013-10-01T19:56:52Z")
> [@Conservian](#): > > Boehner a hard case for Democrats? ROFTLMAO!!! > I would give almost anything to see a Democan like Boehner replaced by a genuine tea-party conservative as SOTH. Then the Democrats would really come to understand the meaning of the word OPPOSITION, rather than the same ole Kabuki Theatre Boehner & Democrats engage in. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > :rolleyes: We’re on the verge of a government shutdown caused entirely by House Pub intransigence and you don’t think the House GOP is an OPPOSITION?! > [@Conservian](#): > > _sighs_ Please, spare me the drama. The [projection](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection) . . . it burns . . . ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/36 "2013-10-02T13:08:06Z")
Well, **TSBG** at least know that you’re ahead of your time. From today’s [LA Times](http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mcmanus-column-congress-shutdown-20131002,0,3661872.column): > [@](#): > > Some congressional aides estimate that almost 200 of the 232 House Republicans could support a spending deal that doesn’t stop Obamacare — except for the embarrassing fact that if the tea party members bolt, Boehner would need to ask Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and other Democrats for help in amassing a majority. > > Would such a move cost Boehner his job as speaker? Maybe — but maybe not. Some Democrats have said, a tad mischievously, that they’d be willing to rescue Boehner if he’d pass a “clean” spending bill and allow a vote on the immigration reform bill that the Senate has already passed. “I’d vote for him to remain speaker until the next election if he’d allow these issues to come to the floor,” Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) told me Monday. > > At the moment, that’s mostly a fanciful idea. It would make the House of Representatives look more like the Italian Parliament, run by a multiparty coalition constantly on the brink of collapse. But then, come to think of it, that’s not far from what we have now. Note that it’s an editorial column, not a direct news story and one Democratic rep making the tweaking suggestion doesn’t mean a movement is afoot. Thought it was an amusing coincidence with this thread though. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/37 "2013-10-02T19:19:40Z")
This article, by a conservative reporter, suggests that Boehner is in fact afraid of losing his Speakership: [On Capitol Hill, the Obamacare fight is no longer about Obamacare | Washington Examiner](http://washingtonexaminer.com/on-capitol-hill-the-obamacare-fight-is-no-longer-about-obamacare/article/2536702) Which, perhaps, gives the Democrats a theoretical opening, a la the LA Times piece. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/38 "2013-10-02T20:07:15Z")
Can someone tell me what the difference between being speaker but beholden to the will of a group of about 30 idiots, and just giving up the ghost and stepping down, is? I wouldn’t want to remain speaker if everything I had to do was to appease some insane people. Why does Boehner even want to keep the job? I just say hold the open vote for all democrats and republicans, and if the tea partiers force a new speakership election, and Boehner loses, then what is he really losing? He is obviously not the leader of his party right now in the house. The Tea Partiers are calling all the shots. He is impotent. Whether he holds the title of speaker seems irrelevant at this point. Is it just pride? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/39 "2013-10-02T20:15:42Z")
“A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible, (making it) the only legislative body in the world which cannot act when its majority is ready for action.” - Woodrow Wilson, in response to a Republican filibuster ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023/40 "2013-10-02T20:19:38Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > “A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible, (making it) the only legislative body in the world which cannot act when its majority is ready for action.” > > - Woodrow Wilson, in response to a Republican filibuster This crisis, however, is a **House** problem; filibusters do not apply. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-the-democrats-cut-a-deal-with-boehner-on-the-speakership/670023.md?page=3)