Boehner On The Chopping Block: Tea Party Wants To Silence Speaker
The Washington Times reports John Boehner’s tenure as Speaker of the House is in jeopardy. The Tea Party, who have no affection for the speaker, have stated their intention to see him ousted from his position. This move comes just as John McCain is attempting to cleanse Tea Party members from Republican ranks, as reported by the Inquisitr.
According to Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, “a month after its incredible victory, the GOP squandered its mandate, surrendering to the Democrats. The GOP led House of Representatives did not proclaim its mandate and hold off on major decisions until the Republican majority in the Senate was sworn in. No, they went to the GOP position of preemptive surrender and gave President Obama and the Democrats almost everything they wanted.”
The 114th Congress convenes at noon on January 6, and the first item on the agenda in the House will be the election of the speaker. Ohio Republican Rep. John Boehner, who has served in that position since 2011, is expected to be re-elected, but more than a dozen tea party-aligned conservatives, however, are likely to vote against Boehner on the grounds that he is not sufficiently steadfast in opposing President Barack Obama on a variety of issues, including the budget and immigration, reports Newsmax.
The Washington Times article states the Republicans were on the political endangered species list in 2010, and Mr. Boehner embraced the tea party as his only hope.
“As soon as he was in office, the tea party was simply a part of the Republican Party to be ignored. Mr. Boehner made the obligatory statements about cutting spending and reducing Obamacare. Yet time after time, when the occasion called for him to stand and fight, he chose surrender,” says Phillips.
Layne Hansen, of American Thinker, concurs with Phillips’ assessment.
“It is time to stop thinking of John Boehner and the rest of the Republican congressional leadership as being cowardly and recognize them for what they are: part of The Ruling Class that believes it has the right to tell the rest of us how to live. The current GOP leadership has got to go; this has ceased to be an arguable point. We cannot count on these people to do what is right. Conservatives did not give them majorities in both chambers for them to keep playing the same game,” he wrote in his blog.
Tea Party groups have banded together in a campaign titled, “Don’t Be Yellow, Dump Boehner Now” orchestrated by WND (WorldNetDaily) Founder Joseph Farah, who said he expects, based on early reaction, to generate millions of letters in time for delivery when the new Congress opens its session.
“It’s not the Christmas present John Boehner was hoping to receive,” said Farah. “It’s clear from the viral nature of this campaign that millions of Americans, mostly Republicans, by the way, would like to put coal in Boehner’s stocking this year. And they’d like him to accept the gift as just another member of the House of Representatives rather than as its leader.”
Farah’s campaign allows anyone to send a form letter on yellow paper to every Republican member of the House, and was organized in response to what Farah states is “growing anger and frustration from GOP voters.”
[Image via WND]
