Speaker of the House John Boehner needs to be a profile in courage, a man with “cajones”, as the crisis over the budget reaches its peak, and default on the debt is possible by mid October.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is, first and foremost, a constitutional officer, and under the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, he is second in line, two heartbeats away, from the Presidency.
That is his most important role, more than being a partisan leader of his party, and it is essential, accepted, and mandated that he do NOTHING to cause the “good faith and credit” of the United States government to be harmed, or for the creation of an economic collapse that could harm all of the American people!
So it is time to stop playing games, and for Speaker Boehner to refuse to allow the Tea Party whackos, who are basically domestic terrorists taking America hostage, from stopping the necessary actions to avoid a government shutdown and, later, a reneging on the raising of the debt limit!
He must work with those responsible Republicans, and with Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader and her party, to gain the majority vote to resolve both of these crises, and to hell with the right wing lunatics who do not care about anything but their sick, demented ideology!
And if that leads to his party in the House of Representatives to depose him as Speaker, so be it, as he will look great in history for having taken the responsible, sane stand on his duty as top ranking federal official after the President and Vice President!
This situation would never have occurred under Sam Rayburn during the Eisenhower Administration; under John McCormack or Carl Albert during the Nixon and Ford Administrations; and Thomas “Tip” O’Neill during the Reagan Administration, and it MUST NOT be allowed to hold America in a reckless grab for power by an anarchistic group which is controlled by powerful special interests, including the Koch Brothers!
Mr. Speaker, do what you need to do, and you will leave office with your head held high!
Professor you seem to have more confidence in Boehner than I do. I believe hoping he will take the reins of leadership, control his caucus and do the right thing is largely a waste of time. He simply is not capable and has been so undermined by Cantor and the T-party that he is totally ineffective. I also suspect he is alcoholic and it has increased in severity.
Maggie, you MAY be totally correct in what you say, including the alcohol problem. And Eric Cantor, who would likely become Speaker if Boehner quit or was pushed out, is even worse–a totally despicable excuse for a politician, who is an embarrassment to the Jewish people!
Hello Professor,
Those who were delegated through elections to run the government, and who are now advocating to shut it down, by definition, there in itself defines failure. Thus is the legacy of the Tea Party.