Remember all those articles about Boehner taking revenge on those who’d opposed his Speakership…
…by taking away their committee positions? And remember how angry conservatives got about it?
I wrote a post on it here. But the next day I made this comment:
…[T]here’s no real evidence that the retribution [by Boehner against his conservative enemies] is occurring…
Now, I’m not saying it won’t happen. As I’ve written before, politics ain’t beanbag and people with power tend to reward those who support them and punish those who don’t. But it’s interesting that nothing much has really happened yet and yet we get all these reports that it’s happened or will happen. Who is making the reports? The MSM. Since their goal is to heighten the discord on the right, they have every motivation to spread rumors that will do just that.
I’ll wait for something clearer before I will believe it’s happening. Again, I won’t be surprised if it happens. But it may not.
Now comes this article in National Journal entitled: “Boehner Foes Get Gavels, Not Punishment,” and subtitled “The speaker’s allies are annoyed that GOP rebels are getting top subcommittee slots.” Here’s an excerpt:
As Republicans try to foster unity at a joint retreat here, frustration is boiling over among allies of House Speaker John Boehner that his biggest detractors are being rewarded with promotions, even after trying to overthrow him in a coup earlier this month.
The latest controversy comes as Rep. Louie Gohmert, who directly challenged Boehner for the speakership, announced on Thursday that he was given the chairmanship of the Natural Resources Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee…
Boehner’s allies have been much more eager to exact revenge against his opponents than the speaker himself has, and leadership sources have said that while Boehner is angry at his foes, he does not think public retribution is the best long-term move.
Gohmert is only the latest Boehner foe to receive a gavel. Because of that, several members described a thick air of tension within the House GOP Conference, a feeling a second Republican House member described as a blanket hanging over the GOP’s three-day retreat, which ended Friday.
The only constant seems to be the constant carping within the Republican Party. But Boehner certainly doesn’t seem to be at fault here, and the reports that he was taking revenge were (IMHO) efforts to stir up reactive anger on the part of conservatives.
I would caution all conservatives to be alert to the very real possibility that the press is trying to fan the flames of your ire, and that you are sometimes being manipulated.
“I would caution all conservatives to be alert to the very real possibility that the press is trying to fan the flames of your ire, and that you are sometimes being manipulated.”
Oh, Noooooo; surely not! Our media, lie to us?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Not just the press — there’s also Presidential “trolling”. Two good pieces on that in the NY Post, one by Jonah Goldberg and one by John Podhoretz. Both are worth a read.
Good for Boehner. This is not war, it’s politics, or consensus negotiation.
I think the GOP manages their role as the stupid party just fine without any assist from the media. Please don’t be too shocked when they let us down on immigration, Obamacare, and whatever else.
It’s more likely Boehner decided it was double stupid to blatantly anger conservatives and this buys him some conservative cred among the more gullible and overly optimistic. (not meant as an insult, most normal people tend to optimism and it is healthier!)
Friends close. Enemies closer. Convert enemies to friends without driving friends into enemy camp by annoying them too much.
How To Become and Stay Speaker.
It’s also not a bad idea to give his opponents some responsibilty and let their colleagues decide whetheer they are up to a bigger job.
Gee I wonder why conservatives thought that Boehner might take retribution?
http://www.freedomworks.org/content/speaker-boehner-removing-fiscal-conservatives-committees
Maybe Boehner reconsidered when conservative voters called, in numbers that were apparently unprecedented, to tell their representatives to vote him out.
Possibility? More like a certainty.
Example: Consider the soft treatment Ron Paul got from “mainstream” journalists when he was running for president. Why? Becase he was causing problems for the Republican Party.
I’ll go even further. I believe at least few of the commenters who attack Boehner and other Republican leaders for being insufficiently conservative are “false flag” operatives, leftists trying to cause problems within the Republican Party.
Right Jim. And the fact that the GOP leadership does what it can not to support tea party candidates is a ‘false flag’ operation. And maybe the leaks that the GOP leadership are looking for a way to pass amnesty is a ‘false flag’ too.
Jim Miller: if I wanted to never criticize the party I have to vote for (not “belong to”), I’d be a Democrat.
“I would caution all conservatives to be alert to the very real possibility that the press is trying to fan the flames of your ire, and that you are sometimes being manipulated.”
While I agree with you that there may be some manipulation by the Press, I still don’t like Boehner.
I base this on his past weak performance in the past and his pushing through the 2015 budget. So now he only has 1 yr to effect change not 2.
Jim Miller:
I’ll go even further. I believe at least few of the commentators (aka Jim) who attack those that attack Boehner and other Republican leaders for being insufficiently conservative are “false flag” operatives, RINO’s trying to make up excuses for a leadership that likes the power of the office but does not have the depth or intelligence to stand their ground against the Chamber of Commerce or MSM. They long for groups like the Dems have- Don’t question, don’t ask simply follow orders and trust that we/big government are looking out for you. Sorry Boehner is only looking out for himself and his masters.
Mike: Yep, well said.
Mike:
I agree on Boehner. He had not earned anyone’s trust.
It would be more accurate to depend on the analysis of people who already predicted the Left’s false flag operations. There needs to be a reputation, to ward off against agent provocateurs.