National Review's Jim Geraghty joins host Greg Corombos. Today's topics: The GOP majority across Capitol Hill, the GOP's anti-amnesty strategy, and newly re-elected N.Y. Rep. Chris Gibson announces his impending retirement.
Anatomy of a Failed Coup
Around 10 a.m. this morning, Representative John Fleming (R., Md.) received a phone call from a colleague asking him to vote against Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) on the House floor today.
Fleming has a longstanding alliance with Representative Steve King (R., Iowa), Representative Jim Bridenstine (R., Okla.), and other ringleaders of the unsuccessful effort to oust Boehner from the speaker's chair, which makes it surprising that this was the first time anyone had contacted him about the issue.
"To ask me to vote against the speaker on the last day like this, without having an alternative to vote for, without really having a chance to vet that person and debate this and discuss this, I said, was just a really bad idea," Fleming told National Review Online, explaining why he voted to confirm Boehner as House speaker. "If we're going to change leadership, we need to do it in a very systematic and organized way."
Fleming's experience is indicative of the disorganization that characterized the coup attempt. And it points to a second problem: the lack of a top-tier alternative - someone such as House Ways and Means Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) - willing to rally the opposition against Boehner. Ultimately, those factors combined with the difficulties inherent in challenging a sitting speaker, sinking the coup.
"We should have done all of that after the election, and then in December, that's when we should have had the battle over who should be speaker," Fleming says.
Given the risks involved and the difficulty in finding a candidate, it's perhaps more surprising that the rebels convinced 24 Republicans to vote against Boehner than it is that they came up short. One Republican congressman said that the results today actually understate the conference's interest in new leadership.
"People - especially activists - hate Boehner," the lawmaker, who voted for Boehner in order to guarantee that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) wouldn't get a chance to become speaker, told NRO. "It's the most unpopular vote most of us will ever take."
Also read:
Why So Many Republicans Wouldn't Vote for Boehner as Speaker
Will Speaker Boehner Punish Dissidents?
National Review's Jim Geraghty joins host Greg Corombos. Today's topics: House conservatives move to oust John Boehner as speaker, the rift between GOP donors and conservative grassroots, and Mike Huckabee explores another presidential run.
Mike Huckabee, 2016: He's in...
With Huckabee's entrance into the field of 2016 Republican candidates, he becomes one of just four GOP figures who have taken concrete steps to mount a campaign. Huckabee joins Jeb Bush in revealing his intention to form an exploratory committee. Reports have indicated that former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is staffing up ahead of a likely campaign. Pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson disclosed his intention to announce his decision on whether to run in the spring, and figures close to him have indicated to reporters that he is likely to run.
It's not going out too far on a limb here to say that, of the many competent and capable 2016 prospects in the Republican Party, the above field of presidential aspirants is underwhelming. Bush seems to be running for the GOP nomination by applying the Huntsman model to the project; displaying contempt for the concerns of the party's base while simultaneously seeking their support. Fiorina has never held elected office, and Carson has never even run a campaign. And Huckabee, while an accomplished governor who can work a room like nobody else, has a penchant for making impolitic comments that would doom him in the general election.
Now consider the talent on the GOP bench of potential 2016 prospects who have not yet committed to a bid. From governors like Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, to Indiana's Mike Pence, to Wisconsin's Scott Walker, to Texas's Rick Perry, to New Jersey's Chris Christie and Senators including Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Rand Paul (R-KY) – not to mention the former Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) – the abundances of aptitude and vigor in this cast should make any Democrat nervous...
Also read:
Mike Huckabee Is a Poison Pill for Conservatives
Get ready for another anti-Boehner fizzle on Tuesday
