Same Party Different Day
By Mitch Berg
I heard the results of the GOP House caucus elections – Boehner retains the (I’m not kidding, this is really what they call it) “leadership” post – and was…
…underwhelmed?
First Ringer at TvM puts it well:
Proving themselves to be the political equivalent of William Ford to the GOP leadership’s Matt Millen, Republicans in D.C. re-elected Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) to the post of minority leader despite the party’s nearly 20 seat dip two weeks ago. Surviving a last-minute challenge by conservative California Rep. Dan Lungren, Boehner once again pick up his mantle of leadership and tossed it at the feet of the incoming Democrat supermajority:
“America needs us to be the party of reform again,” Mr. Boehner told House Republicans Wednesday. “We have a chance to pull together and be the party America needs us to be.
“I wasn´t born a Republican … I didn´t know I was a Republican until I looked up one day and realized Washington was at odds with everything I believed. If history is any guide, millions of Americans will have a similar experience in the coming months as President-elect Obama and the Democrat Congress move their agenda. Our job is to make sure those Americans find a proud home in the Republican Party.”
I doubt if Speaker Pelosi’s heels buckled.
It wasn’t all bad – some youth and conservative fervor in the form of Cantor and Pence got moved up the ranks – but if Conservatives were looking for a resounding tonic from today’s maneuvering, we’re still waiting.
