Boehner reveals Cruz’s ulterior motives

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The false claims of the anti-Boehner crew are all over social media. Here is a voice of reason that explains Cruz’s ulterior motives:

Boehner Will Be Missed – Face The Nation yesterday:

JOHN DICKERSON: “Is Ted Cruz a false prophet?”

BOEHNER: “I’ll refer you to remarks I made at an August fund-raiser in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.”

At the event the Speaker called Cruz “that jackass.” He also emphasized he was completely against the shutdown, it accomplished nothing, the promises were false, and it was designed to bolster Cruz’s profile and fundraising. Cruz gained over two million donor names and they helped him raise $50 million in this quarter.

[Because of the shutdown], 920,000 federal employees got a two week paid vacation, and despite the Senator’s claims, not one Democrat defected.

U.S. House schedule on first day after Speaker Boehner’s announcement to step down, Monday, Sept. 28, 2015

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The U.S. House will meet today for the first time since Speaker John Boehner’s unexpected announcement that he will step down as speaker and resign from his congressional seat at the end of October. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to be the heavy favorite to move into the Speaker position. Here is the agenda for Monday, September 28, 2015.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH
On Monday, the House will meet at 12:00 p.m. for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.

One Minute Speeches

Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules:

Eric Cantor NYT op-ed: ‘The GOP, after John Boehner’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Former Virginia Congressman and Majority Leader Eric Cantor wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times (see Eric Cantor: The GOP, After John Boehner) about U.S. House Speaker John Boehner’s decision Friday to step down at the end of October, giving up not only the speaker role but also his congressional seat:

Richmond, Va. — LIKE so many others, I was stunned by Speaker John A. Boehner’s announcement on Friday that he would step down at the end of October. For nearly six years — first as Republican whip and then as majority leader — I met with John on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis as we worked to lead the House Republican Conference. It is no secret that we had different styles and personalities, but he was always selfless, a man who put the nation, his constituents, the House of Representatives and the party before himself.

Friday was another selfless act. By stepping down amid the tumult in the House conference, he has given my former colleagues in the House, fellow members of the Republican Party and the broader conservative movement a chance to demonstrate to the American people that we are prepared to govern and worthy of their trust.

But the next part of his op-ed speaks volumes, even above the clamor of those celebrating Boehner’s decision to leave:

Opinion: Rubio scored cheap points at Boehner’s expense

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Donald Trump is the only Republican presidential candidate I have written against. Until now.

This pandering from Marco Rubio, who rushed to be the first to tell an anti-Boehner crowd that the Speaker had announced his resignation, resulting in cheers and celebrating, did not sit well with me:

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.

It’s sad to see one Republican score political points in this way at the expense of another Republican.

UPDATE #1: So I wasn’t the only one who felt that Marco Rubio’s cheap shot at Speaker Boehner was out of place (see Boehner allies furious at Rubio’s unprovoked shot at his resignation):

The first shot fired against US House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), in the wake of the stunning announcement of his resignation Friday, did not come from Donald Trump. It did not come from a presidential candidate outside Washington.

Rather, it came from US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida). The presidential candidate and freshman senator, minutes after news leaked from the House Republican conference meeting, told a crowd at the Values Voter Summit in Washington that Boehner was resigning.

They cheered the news, and despite saying he was not there to “bash anyone,” many Boehner allies thought Rubio did just that with his next comment.

“The time has come to turn the page,” he said. “The time has come to turn the page and allow a new generation of leadership in this country.”

I suppose that was Rubio’s “not-bashing-anyone” kind of way of saying, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Not classy.

UPDATE #2: From The Hill: Furious Boehner allies lash out:

Boehner repeatedly saw conservatives vote against the GOP rules governing debate on legislation. Those votes are supposed to be tests of party loyalty.

[His allies] also argue Boehner repeatedly bent to conservative critics on spending issues, only to see them stab him in the back.

U.S. House continues debate on Iran nuclear issue … agenda for Friday, Sept. 11, 2015

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The U.S. House will meet early to take up a continuation of the debate about the Iran nuclear issue before heading into the weekend. Though no mention of the 14th anniversary of the terrorism attacks of September 11, 2001, is on the schedule, it seems fairly certain the memorable date will be noted in some way. Here is today’s agenda from Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH
On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. First and last votes expected: 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

One Minute Speeches

U.S. House continues debate on Iran nuclear deal. Agenda for Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015

By Lynn R. Mitchell

After taking on the Iran Nuclear deal on Wednesday, the House will continue discussion today with resolutions from the Foreign Affairs Committee sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo and Rep. John Boehner. Here is the U.S. House schedule from Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s office for today….

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10TH
On Thursday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. First votes expected: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Last votes expected: 4:30-5:30 p.m.

One Minute Speeches

H. Res. 411 – Finding that the President has not complied with section 2 of the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (Closed Rule, Two Hours of Debate
(Sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo / Foreign Affairs Committee) 

Begin Consideration of H.R. 3461 – To Approve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed at Vienna on July 14, 2015, relating to the nuclear program of Iran (Closed Rule, Three Hours of Debate)
(Sponsored by Rep. John Boehner / Foreign Affairs Committee) 

Special Order Speeches 

Printable PDF

Peter Wehner: ‘Conservatives in name only’

By Lynn R. Mitchell

An op-ed in the New York Times scratches its head at the battle within the Republican Party. Peter Wehner,  a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who served in the last three Republican administrations, questions in his piece those Republican representatives who turned on House Speaker John Boehner after his clear-cut leadership led the party to a victory unseen since the 1920s (see Conservatives In Name Only):

Last week the Republican Party’s divisions were on display, when Speaker of the House John A. Boehner — who helped his party gain its largest majority since the Truman administration — faced an uprising. The revolt was led by conservatives against a man whose voting record is unquestionably conservative. It was another indication that the tension on the right these days is not about policy or ideology but tone and temperament.

Think about that. The largest Republican majority in the House of Representatives since the Great Depression. He continues:

Brat took $10,000 donation from Boehner, then voted against him

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Not only did Dave Brat vote for John Boeher before he voted against him (see Brat voted for Boehner before he voted against him), he also was happy to pocket the Speaker’s $10,000 donation to his campaign and then proceed to kick him in the teeth, so to speak, by not voting for him in Tuesday’s election for Speaker of the U.S. House. In my book, that raises some serious trust issues with this representative.

 

Anti-Boehner two years ago, SC’s Mulvaney explains why he didn’t join the 25 dissenters this time

By Lynn R. Mitchell

On Tuesday, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) won re-election to his Speaker role even though a tiny group of Republican representatives tried to organize a mutiny to prevent it. They lost.

Two years ago there was a similar anti-Boehner group. At that time one of them was South Carolina Republican Congressman Mick Mulvaney but he did not join them this year and, instead, voted for Boehner.

On Tuesday he explained why he voted for John Boehner. It gives insight into the disarray of that group of Republicans. He also confirms the November 13th meeting that was exposed by Brian Schoeneman (see Faux posturing by anti-Boehner forces dupes their supporters), and the fact not a single person stood up against the Speaker at that time:

The 25 Republicans who voted against Boehner

By Lynn R. Mitchell

John Boehner (R-OH) was re-elected Tuesday as Speaker of the U.S. House of Reprsentatives. Many were glued to C-SPAN for the voice vote, waiting to see who would defect and who would support the Speaker. In the end, 25 Republicans voted for a wide variety of names that were not Boehner. Two of them were from Virginia:  Scott Rigell and Dave Brat.

The 25 are listed here in alphabetical order:

Morgan Griffith offers background on Nov. 13th Speaker vote

By Lynn R. Mitchell

On the eve of a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives for Speaker of the House, Virginia Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-9th CD) issued a press release related to the upcoming vote:

Brat voted for Boehner before he voted against him

Speaker John Boehner

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Virginia freshman Congressman Dave Brat (R-7th CD) authored a column in Monday’s Breitbart News that said he has no intentions of voting for John Boehner for Speaker of the House: “While I like Speaker Boehner personally, he will not have my support for Speaker.”

However, Mr. Brat already voted for John Boehner because the vote for Speaker took place in November and it was unanimous (see No, there’s no race for Speaker of the House by Brian Schoeneman at Bearing Drift):

The elections for the House Republican Leadership were held on November 13 in the Conference and there were no surprises. The Conference meeting included all of the new members, who were in town for orientation and these meetings.  The new members chose their Freshman Class representative, Congresswoman-elect Mimi Walters (R-CA), as well.

Here’s the press conference they held after the leadership elections.

Keep in mind what I already wrote: nobody ran against Boehner.

So Mr. Brat was for Mr. Boehner before he was against him.

Congressman Goodlatte, please vote for Speaker John Boehner

By Lynn R. Mitchell

On Sunday afternoon, there was yet another email that urged everyone to contact our congressman, Bob Goodlatte, to instruct him to not vote for Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday.  I totally support Speaker Boehner and have relayed that to Congressman Goodlatte. Did the anti-Boehner forces not read the post by Brian Schoeneman at Bearing Drift that they are being duped (see No, there’s no race for Speaker of the House)?

Here’s the email that came from Roanoke City Republican Committee chairman John Brill:

Faux posturing by anti-Boehner forces dupes their supporters

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The elections for the House Republican Leadership were held on November 13 in the Conference and there were no surprises. The Conference meeting included all of the new members, who were in town for orientation and these meetings.  The new members chose their Freshman Class representative, Congresswoman-elect Mimi Walters (R-CA), as well.

Here’s the press conference they held after the leadership elections.

Keep in mind what I already wrote: nobody ran against Boehner.

With that — boom — Brian Schoeneman exposes that the anti-Boehner masses are being duped by the very people they thought they could trust (see No, there’s no race for Speaker of the House). He continued:

The right-of-center war on John Boehner

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The war on John Boehner began before the November elections and is continuing as we head into the new Congress. The local Republican Party units, aligned with the tea party — indeed, the Augusta County unit chair who is also the State Central member is married to the director of the Shenandoah Valley Tea Party Patriots — have been urging Boehner’s removal for months, echoing the message of other far right-of-center voices who are more impressed by Senator Ted Cruz’s shut-down-the-government efforts than the pragmatic leadership of less showy representatives.