https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/10/04/ten-reasons-to-miss-boehner/House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) had to step back into the political fray this week to minimize the train wreck that speaker-in-waiting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) caused in suggesting the Benghazi select committee was designed to “get” Hillary Clinton. (He later walked back the remark.) However, the damage was done, and it was political manna for Clinton, who would like nothing better to pass the whole thing off as a partisan witch hunt. Democrats claimed to be offended and outraged; Republicans were furious, especially those who had worked diligently on the committee. Boehner made clear he set up the committee to get to the bottom of the Benghazi scandal.
If Republicans who cheered his ouster needed a pointed reminder, Boehner has many underappreciated skills, which will be missed. These include:
1. A top-flight staff. The speaker is arguably the most highly visible Republican now and is under constant assault from the press (both MSM and conservative), Democrats and unhappy Republicans. Boehner made sure his advisers were loyal and professional. The Benghazi episode this week should be a flashing yellow light in McCarthy’s office: Be prepared.
2. Boehner knew it was not about him. He took Congress and the speakership seriously, but not himself. He remained quite humble for a speaker — willing to let presidential candidates criticize him as part of their posing as outsiders, smoothing over rough patches with former majority leader Eric Cantor and refusing to take affront in the face of constant provocations by the president. He knew who he was and didn’t need to remind others he was arguably the second most important man inside the Beltway (certainly until the GOP took back the Senate).
3. He was relentlessly on message. McCarthy’s gaffe this week reminded us that Boehner rarely if ever gave his opponents a rhetorical freebie. He was criticized for his taciturn speaking style, but sometimes the fewer words spoken, the fewer mistakes made.
4. He was a champion of school choice. If not for him the D.C. school voucher program would not have survived. He essentially shamed Democrats into leaving the program in place.
5. He was a patriot, strong on national security and a friend of Israel. He never dabbled in isolationism as some in his party did. He did the right thing in backing the president on use of force against Bashar al-Assad (only to see Obama do an about-face). Whether on Iran, aid to Israel or objecting to the president’s bullying of our ally Israel, he was an indefatigable friend of the Jewish state. His invitation for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak made possible one of the great speeches by an Israeli leader and set the contours of the opposition argument against a deal so bad that its Democratic defenders are already seeking cover.
6. He was a spending hawk and tax hike opponent. While I believe the sequestration — the result of intransigence by Democrats on the so-called super committee to strike a deal — eventually proved counterproductive, Boehner did keep federal spending from exploding. He did not vilify government, but he did walk the walk on limited government. To the amazement of many he also managed to preserve 99 percent of the Bush tax cuts. (He would have preserved more had the backbenchers not sabotaged his Plan B.)
7. He kept the government from defaulting. When his backbenchers could have done permanent damage to our credit rating he put his foot down. With the exception of the 2013 shutdown, he kept the lights on, sparing his party further embarrassment and wrath.
8. He hated the racketeering right-wingers. These are the Beltway groups and right-wing operators who promote themselves and make money by goading the House into ridiculous positions. He made clear that good conservative governance means incremental gains, not incendiary rhetoric.
9. He raised a ton of money for his party. Roll Call reported, “Boehner’s fundraising operation was so extensive and successful — he donated tens of millions to his colleagues and candidates via multiple campaign committees and PACs — that his departure will leave a massive hole in Republican Party and GOP candidate coffers.”
10. No one could have done better. It was a thankless task in trying to manage his own party, fend off legislation (e.g. cap and trade, tax hikes), defend the House’s prerogatives, patiently absorb unwarranted criticism and steer his party into the majority. He stayed as long as he did out of a sense of obligation. We will see if anyone can do as well going forward.
