Minority Leader Boehner
To the surprise of no one, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to keep Ohio Representative John Boehner and the party Leader (also referred to as the Minority Leader).
Of course, the right-wing pundits here in Washington have proclaimed that John Boehner will use this role to help bring a conservative voice back to the Republican Party.
Have these people not been following Congressional politics for the last year?
Based on recent statements, it even appears that Boehner himself has forgotten the actions of House Republicans over the last year:
(from Politico.com)
“In recent years Americans lost faith in us; stopped believing we are what we claim to be,” Boehner said. “There are various views on why. Some blame President Bush. Others blame Congressional Republicans and our own actions during our 12 years in the majority. While there are many views on why Americans lost their faith, we’re unanimous on one thing: it’s time to win it back.”
Sure, some blame President Bush, and yes, others might blame actions taken during our time in the majority. However, in my opinion, it’s a well versed cop-out.
I think it’s safe to say that for the most part, it’s only those who have been sipping on the Potomac Kool-Aid that truly think that people base their perceptions of the current House Republicans based on what happened during their time in the Majority.
It’s unfortunate to see that just moments after he was re-elected as Minority Leader, one of his first statements was the response of a typical politician, something most are sick of.
It’s not President Bush, and it’s not even the former Majority. People are upset with the Republican Party because of the actions that they took in the past year, actions that were spearheaded by Leader Boehner, which is probably why he wont step up and address that bit of information.
Let’s not forget that Leader Boehner was one of the House Republicans claiming that we needed this Wall Street Bailout, despite the massive public outcry of opposition.
Leader Boehner will vote for a bailout that will cost taxpayers $700,000,000,000.00, but then also make statements like this:
“Washington is broken, and it will never be fixed until the earmarks stop and fundamental reform begins”
While I’m not as smart as many members of Congress, pro-reform statements like the one above, followed by a vote for the bailout seem a bit contradictory to me. Maybe I just need more of that Potomac Kool-Aid to see the light.
I think that Leader Boehner could be a great voice for the Republican Party, and more importantly the conservative base. Aside from this, his record is quite impressive.
Unfortunately for Republicans in the House, the biggest issue is the economy, which would normally be a good thing for Republicans.
However courtesy of the latest actions by some in the GOP (support for the bailout), if they want to be trusted by the American people, they’re going to have to grow a pair, and those who voted for the bailout are going to have to admit that they made a mistake and promise to be more responsible with taxpayer money.
Unfortunately, as you can see in Leader Boehner’s statement, the one thing you can’t get a politcian to do is admit that they made a mistake.
I guess we just have to ask ourselves, If con is the opposite of pro then what is the opposite of progress?
