Who asked John Boehner?
We’ve all been in situations where someone contributed an opinion or statement on a topic of general interest only to be greeted with quizzical looks and a rather contemptuous, “Who asked you?” from a know-it-all companion.
Well, nobody asked, but if you’re seeking input and the occasion strikes, what’s wrong with chipping in your two cents?
Apparently Boehner sees no problem with it. The former Republican Speaker of the House has been talking out of turn a lot lately. More specifically, whenever former President Donald Trump expresses his thoughts about the 2020 election -- or disses the current GOP leadership -- Boehner rides his golfcart to the rescue the establishment like a chain smoking, Merlot slurping, always emotional avenging angel on a mission to defend the sorry virtues of the swamp creatures. One quickly forgets that the Ohioan was basically drummed out of town (Washington, DC) in October, 2015, because he couldn’t take advantage of sizable party majorities to further the conservative cause. Who is he to be commenting from afar now?
Naturally, the establishment media loves Boehner’s blabbering. Anything they can do to bring Trump’s name to the forefront is a winner in their book. With bumbling senile Joe Biden providing them plenty to talk about -- in the ‘What the heck?’ category -- they’d much prefer drawing clicks and eyeballs by relying on the old standard “Bad Orange Man” to do the work for them. And if the gossip adds the impression of chaos in Republican-land, all the better.
The tan skin-tinted Boehner might be the perfect stooge to get it started, too. Seth McLaughlin reported at The Washington Times:
“Former House Speaker John Boehner said Monday former President Donald Trump’s reported criticism of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t help the Republican Party.
“Mr. Trump reportedly targeted Mr. McConnell at a fundraiser event over the weekend in Florida, describing the Kentucky Republican as a ‘dumb son of a bitch’ and a ‘stone cold loser.’…
“’I think rhetoric that inflames people is wrong,’ Mr. Boehner said about Mr. Trump’s criticism of Mr. McConnell on CBS ‘This Morning.’ ‘I don’t care whether it is from the left or the right,’ the Ohio Republican said. ‘It just doesn’t help our country in any way, shape, or form.’”
McLaughlin additionally reported that Boehner made the comments while promoting his new book, “On the House: A Washington Memoir,” in which he slams the “noise-makers” in both parties and criticizes Trump for being a sore loser after last year’s election. It doesn’t take someone with a great intellect to make the connection here: nobody asked Boehner for his thoughts on Trump but he’s using the New Yorker’s prominence and instant street cred with the Republican rank-and-file to gain notoriety for his own profit-seeking venture.
Boehner’s nothing but a moldy, well-past-prime shill -- for himself. How bad is it? The guy even went begging at CNN.
If anything, Trump should send Boehner an invoice for providing high-profile media publicity. Otherwise, there would be a lot of people asking, “Who asked John Boehner, anyway?” and “Why would anyone concern themselves with the impressions of a guy who left in disgrace before Trump had even received a single vote in the 2016 GOP primaries?” Boehner’s successor, Paul Ryan, will probably want his share of the sensation pie at some point, so expect the Badger State native to write a tell-all book about himself in the age of Trump.
At least Ryan was head of the Republican controlled House for the first two years of Trump’s presidency, and was singularly blamed/credited for botching the party’s messaging during the push to repeal and replace the disastrous Obamacare. Shouldn’t Boehner concede that he and Ryan couldn’t lead a Boy Scout troop on a campout much less shepherd through conservative legislation that would receive the president’s signature?
Of course, Mitch McConnell is in on the joke too. McConnell has always proven adapt at guarding the ramparts of the Washington ruling class’s seemingly impregnable fortress. Trump made inroads in breaking the elites’ hold on power but couldn’t overcome the damage from the media’s over-hyped freak-out on COVID-19 and the stupidity of certain states in trashing their mail-fraud protective measures in last year’s election.
Boehner himself had nearly five years to first stall the Obama agenda and then lay the groundwork for something bigger and better once Republicans took back the White House. But whenever he was challenged, Boehner shrunk like a snail retreating to its shell. Instead of using the House’s control of the purse strings to essentially compel Democrats to go pound sand whenever they wanted money for something, he lit another cigarette and retired to his favorite watering hole to drown his sorrows in Merlot.
Under Boehner and McConnell -- and then Ryan -- Republicans garnered a reputation as do-nothing losers who talked big against Democrat initiatives and in favor of fiscal responsibility but couldn’t deliver it themselves. The GOP became the “party of No” without offering reasons to keep them in power. They became big spenders, complicit in growing the national debt. John unceremoniously abandoned the “Boehner rule” (“Any increase in the nation's debt ceiling would be accompanied by an equal dose of spending cuts”) during the debt limit battle.
Whenever it came down to fighting Obama and the Democrat minority in the House, Boehner instead worked against the growing contingent of conservatives in the Freedom Caucus. He played politics with those who spoke out against the spinelessness of the establishment, pulling committee positions from those boat-rockers who upset the status quo. Conservatives considered it a victory when he up and quit. It’s only unfortunate that what came after wasn’t an improvement.
It could be said that people like Boehner and McConnell are the new leaders of the pesky but powerless #NeverTrump faction, the weak-kneed complainers who felt emboldened to squawk after the January 6th “mostly peaceful” protest at the Capitol building. It was easy to kick Trump when he was down, and judging by Boehner’s boldness now, they still think they’ll gain control over the GOP by digging into the man now.
But gone is the clamor over impeachment. Nobody talks about it anymore. Trump’s ability to comment in real-time has been curtailed/eliminated by the Big Tech oligarchs and his public statements have been few and mostly confined to the Biden administration and current events. The fact that Trump called McConnell a “dumb son of a bitch” and a “stone cold loser” won’t get anyone excited any longer.
The establishment whiners who weakened Trump’s presidency with complaints about his “rhetoric” and “divisiveness” have seen what transpires when Republicans regress and delve into talking about “what is not good for the party” again. Democrats captured the White House and many if not all of the previous administration’s successful polices have been reversed, while the “Uniter in Chief” ties everything to Jim Crow and racism. The filibuster is in danger, we may get the idiotic and dangerous H.R. 1/S.R. 1 federalism-killing elections bill and America’s sovereignty is being destroyed at the southern border.
What would actually help the Republican party is for has-beens like Boehner to cut out the sniping and rally around the GOP’s most successful leader since Ronald Reagan. Surveys consistently show Trump maintaining his high percentage of supporters -- shouldn’t the people decide what’s good for Republicans?
John Boehner can talk about “rhetoric” all he wants. But Donald Trump retains the loyalty of conservatives and Republicans because he speaks up for traditional and patriotic values. No one wants to purchase Boehner’s book and he should go back to spending his retirement years on the golf course, smoking like a chimney and guzzling vino.
Who asked him, anyway?
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