Dysfunctional GOP Eats its Leader John Boehner

Remember when he said he needs this job like a whole in the head? Now he doesn't have this job anymore.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/onpolitics/2013/01/07/boehner-speaker-critics-defectors/1813747/

Hearing the news that Boehner is stepping down the Tea Party roared its approval. So the inmates have now taken over the asylum.

"Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) got a standing ovation when he broke the news House Speaker John Boehner's resignation to the packed ballroom at the 2015 Values Voter Summit in Washington.

"Just a few moments ago, Speaker Boehner announced he is resigning," Rubio started, and before he could finish the sentence, the ballroom erupted.

"I'm not here to today bash anyone, but the time has come to turn the page and allow new leadership in this country," Rubio said. "This extends to the White House and the Presidency as well."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/marco-rubio-john-boehner-values-voter-summit-comments

For some reason according to CNBC, Boehner's announced resignation also caused short term bond yields to rise.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/25/short-term-yields-spike-on-boehner-resignation.html

It seems the market might be reading this as an increased risk the government shuts down.

Yet the in political news reporting seems to read this as more likely we won't have a government shutdown.

Which makes sense: now that he's quitting at the end of October they can't threaten to fire him. It's as if funding the government will be his last act.

"The Ohio representative struggled from almost the moment he took the speaker’s gavel in 2011 to manage the challenges of divided government and to hold together his fractious and increasingly conservative Republican members."

"Most recently, Mr. Boehner, 65, was trying to craft a solution to keep the government open through the rest of the year, but was under pressure from a growing base of conservatives who told him that they would not vote for a bill that did not defund Planned Parenthood."

"Mr. Boehner’s stunning announcement lessens the chance of a government shutdown next week as Republican leaders in Congress will push for a short-term funding measure to keep the government operating and the speaker will no longer be deterred by those who threatened his job."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/us/john-boehner-to-resign-from-congress.html?_r=0

Boehner did say he was inspired by Pope Francis yesterday so maybe this led him to do the right thing-fund the government even if it means his job. There were plenty of times I've almost felt sorry for him. While he's wrong on most things he clearly was too reality based for his Tea Party House. 

It turns out that he had wanted out of this job for years but Eric Cantor's unexpected loss made him hold on after 2014.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/john-boehner-profile-113874

Boehner's most likelyl replacement: Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.

"Boehner's decision, relayed in a closed Republican meeting Friday morning, will indeed set off one of the most intense leadership scrambles in modern Congressional GOP politics. Second in line is McCarthy, who is widely expected to serve as the next speaker. But there is serious unrest in the House Republican ranks, as a small clutch of conservatives have continuously clashed with establishment Republicans. It takes 218 votes on the House floor to win the speakership, and many GOP insiders believe that McCarthy is the only person who could cobble together a coalition to win."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/speaker-john-boehner-retiring-from-congress-at-the-end-of-october-214056#ixzz3mlgUQczI
Hmmm. So who would take over as Majority Leader? Next in line would be Steve Scalise-yes that friend of David Duke.

Ultimately I think this is about the absolute dysfunction of today's GOP. Forget a bipartisan deal with the Democrats: the fissures are too deep within the party itself.

The Tea Party can't agree with the Establishment, the Senate can't agree with the House.

"At her weekly news conference, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the resignation "seismic" and "a stark indication of the disarray of the House Republicans.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/speaker-john-boehner-retiring-from-congress-at-the-end-of-october-214056#ixzz3mlhRwVrx
Update: It seems to me that maybe the short term bond market is confused: they may think Boehner is stepping down immediately rather than at the end of Octboer.