The weak speaker: How a failed debt vote disarmed the nation's top Republican

[onehandle]

Source: Time

House Speaker John Boehner failed to muster enough GOP votes to pass his plan to raise the debt limit on Thursday night, throwing into question the fate of Boehner's proposal as well as that of his speakership. Republican leaders must now rewrite the legislation in order to attract more conservatives as they try to pass a revised version on Friday. But considerable damage has been done. Boehner's negotiating stance in the ongoing effort to trim deficits and raise the debt ceiling by next Tuesday's deadline is hobbled; any credibility he had in claiming that his restive members could get behind a consensus debt deal has vanished. The Speaker has gone lame.

The House was expected to vote Thursday evening on Boehner's legislation, which would raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2011 in exchange for $917 billion in spending cuts and the creation of a special committee to find more savings that would accompany a second debt-ceiling vote in January. It looked as if Boehner would have the votes early Thursday, but by 5 p.m., Republican leaders announced that the vote would be postponed. As hours slipped by, dozens of reporters congregated outside the Speaker's offices on the second floor of the Capitol. The sun set. Pizzas and sodas were brought in. (See "Unable to Rally Support, House GOP Postpones Key Debt Vote.")

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy met with Republicans who were leaning against voting for the legislation. Freshmen Reps. Mick Mulvaney, Tim Scott, Jeff Duncan and Trey Gowdy were among those pressured to change their votes. "I'm going to go pray for the leadership because I'm still a no," Mulvaney said, emerging from McCarthy's office. Rumors swirled: They were down two votes, then four, then 10. At 10:20 p.m., McCarthy left the Speaker's office and tersely informed reporters that there would be "no vote tonight."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had already declared the House Republican plan dead on arrival in the Senate. But House leaders worked to push the measure through because, as they told their members, it would give them greater leverage in negotiations with the Senate and, perhaps more importantly, their own credibility as dealmakers was on the line. Boehner hoped to force the Senate - and President Obama - to take his version of the debt bill. The Speaker was crafting legislation with Reid until last weekend, but the two split over whether to raise the debt ceiling through 2012 in one vote, as Democrats wanted, or to try for a second debt limit hike in six months. Reid and Obama argued that holding another tortured debt ceiling debate in January, on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, would be politically unwise and economically dangerous.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/weak-speaker-failed-debt-vote-disarmed-nations-top-111905041.html

[opihimoimoi]

1. Boner gonna get 86.....very poor job so far

[Pab Sungenis]

2. In Britain or Canada

a vote like that would bring down the government and force new elections. Our Congressional system may provide stability, but it prevents quick repairs when bad situations like this happen.

[kenfrequed]

6. A pity...

It is a pity there isn't a mechanism for recalling a congressman.

[MarianJack]

3. I Can't Think Of ...

...a weaker House Speaker EVER.

PEACE!

[mikeytherat]

4. Twisted arms to craft a bill guaranteed to piss off everyone and be DOA in the Senate.

Put it all on the line for nothing. Intentional political suicide?

mikey_the_rat

[Gman]

5. Brutal

Two things you really don't want to watch being made. Sausage and legislation.

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. At last, tears of joy are steaming down my cheeks.

Bye, bye, Boner.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

8. Quantitative measure of how poorly Boehner is doing: Only 12 bills passed

so far in his Speakership, on track for 48 by the end of next year, compared to an average 400-plus for each of Nancy Pelosi's two terms. That's 800 percent worse than his predecessor!

Source: MSNBC.

[Maeve]

9. Rachel was right--the man is just really, really BAD at his job! eom

[Demeter]

10. No Fair Battling Wits With an Unarmed Man!

[lunatica]

11. Too bad he has to deal with the willful childish monster the Republicans created

The Teabaggers who are definitely biting the hand that feeds them.

I find this very satisfying.

[apnu]

12. What an idiot. He could have passed something yesterday and gotten it thru the Senate. I'll explain

Speaking as unbiased as possible (and loathe the guy, fair warning) he could have passed something. All of Wall Street and general commerce focused America is behind raising the debt limit. All he had to do was rig up the bill to attract some Democratic support, or hell, put in a bill including the points from the debt talks that both parties had agreed upon. Then he would have passed a bill with broad bi-partisan support and could have dared Reid to kill it. Then Boehner looks like a ultra-stud, the Senate looks like the House's bitch, the economy is saved and the rabid tea bagging dogs look like a bunch of fools.

But no, Boehner looks like the tea baggers bitch instead.