Leadership turmoil shows deep GOP split
WASHINGTON — The gulf between Tea Party conservatives and establishment Republicans has grown so wide that it just swallowed the speaker of the House, and may threaten the entire Republican Party and Congress itself.
The question now is whether anyone can tame the House’s rabble-rousing faction, in the wake of Speaker John Boehner’s decision to resign rather than face a possible vote to depose him. The stakes are sky-high, given the critical deadlines looming to keep the government running and raise the nation’s borrowing limit.
With the GOP presidential contest riding an anti-establishment wave, it’s almost mandatory for the candidates to denounce Republican congressional leaders at the first sign of any potential compromise with Democrats. Dealmaking is that much tougher in Congress, even as some fear it could harm the party’s chances at the White House in 2016.
The long-running drama of establishment vs. insurgency played out anew Friday on Capitol Hill as Tea Party conservatives cheered Boehner’s announcement that he will leave his job at the end of October. The move will ensure that the government stays open into December because the 13-term Ohio lawmaker rejected conservative demands to dare President Obama to veto a government spending bill that cuts money for Planned Parenthood.
But Boehner’s announcement only puts off that fight and others, and promises a chaotic leadership struggle that may result in new leaders facing the same fundamental problem: a core group of 30 or so conservative lawmakers repulsed by compromise and commanding enough votes to stymie leadership plans, despite the GOP’s immense majority.
“You’re going to have a new speaker who is going to have to wonder if he or she is going to be the next person losing their head,” said Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas. “We are a tough group to lead. We are a really tough group to lead.”
Boehner’s announcement delighted hardline conservatives even as it dismayed many more establishment-minded members.
“I’m sure some of those guys have Cheshire grins right now,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. He advocated a strong line against them: “'If you’re not willing to govern, we will make you marginal and irrelevant and we will find those who will help us.'”
“We have to govern here,” said Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, a Boehner ally. “We don’t get to go on talk radio and say whatever we want.”
Yet Boehner’s move seemed only to embolden the hardliners, with several on Capitol Hill and off suggesting that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would be their next target.
“Mitch McConnell is infinitely worse as a leader than Boehner. He surrenders at the sight of battle every time,” said Rep. Matt Salmon, Rariz., one of the rebels. “We made a lot of promises to the American people that if we took the Senate that we would do certain things and those things have not been accomplished.”