We'll breath a little life into the position of speaker when we get back to class next week.- Click here for past stories about the position. These are worth a quick review.
And a few current items regarding Mr. Boehner's leadership. Boehner has been speaker since 2011, and was minority leader from 2007 until then. This despite the fact that he is not well liked - despised might be the right word - by the hard right faction within the Republican Conference. They've attempted occasionally to remove him from office, but none of their proposed replacements have gathered enough support to make the effort successful.
The Constitution says nothing about the role of the Speaker, but it was assumed it would be the presiding officer of the House. With the rise of political parties it became instead the leader of the majority party and instead of managing the entire house, it would try to manage rival interests within the party.
- John Boehner is going to be House speaker in the 114th Congress. Boy was I wrong. A Washington Post writer tries to figure out how Boehner was reelected - rather comfortable as speaker.
- Republicans: We've Got No Plans to Oust Boehner. Conservatives were angered that Boehner removed language in the bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security cancelling out Obama's executive order on immigration, but saw little point in moving against him.
- Battle Between House GOP Factions Prompts Budget Vote Delay. The anti-Boehner faction with the conference is making it difficult for deficit and defense hawks within the party to agree on a budget.
- Boehner's New Strategy: Enlist Democrats First, Not Last. This wont make the conservatives in the conference happy. Boehner can easily get moderate legislation passed if he tailors it to get votes from Democrats. He seem to be making that a first option in this legislation on the "doc fix."
Here's an article from 2010 which outlines Boehner's contentious relationship with Republicans affiliated with the Tea Party.
- House Rule: Will John Boehner control the Tea Party Congress?
