About two weeks ago, John Boehner held a press conference after Pope Francis addressed Congress. A practically cheerful Boehner replaced the weeping one from the previous day as he announced his plan to leave Congress at the end of October. While many expected the speaker to be ousted by the Tea Party bloc of his party, no one could have foreseen Boehner leaving on such an abrupt note.
Both Democrats and Republicans celebrated Boehner’s leave, but for different reasons. The Democrats see this as a defeat of a political opponent who has been blocking legislation, especially immigration reform, from being voted on in the House. But, to quote Bill Maher the week Boehner announced his resignation: "It always gets worse." There is some truth in this statement, because the next speaker will almost certainly be more conservative than Boehner could have ever dreamt of being.
The Republicans often say Boehner’s slow-to-act attitude has cost the Republicans too many defeats in Congress. He is not alone in this regard, with many now calling for the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to resign as well. What is often lost on freshmen and sophomore Tea Party candidates are the nuances of Congress: Even with a majority, it is impossible to win every policy battle, let alone get everything you want from the victories. The newer, more conservative congressmen expect too much from the political system they work in.
Boehner’s premature leave goes deeper than party politics and perfectly exemplifies the ever-polarizing Congress and party system we live in. When Boehner first entered Congress in the 1990s as one of the Gang of Seven, he was considered one of the most conservative congressmen of his time. Today, he is constantly attacked from a place that would have seemed impossible even a decade ago: his own caucus. His colleague Eric Cantor, a man who is by no means anything close to a Democrat, even lost re-election to a Tea Party candidate in 2014.
This deepening polarization is inherently problematic for the U.S. government, which requires constant compromise instead of simple majority rule. Congress is not meant to have a fast response to anything. It is, by its nature, a deliberative body. And many who have been elected as Tea Party candidates do not seem to grasp the rules of compromise or good governance. In the past few years, the government has been shut down simply to make a point about Obamacare or the national debt. In the end, these government shutdowns do not gain any political benefit and only serve to hurt the economy.
But this is who the proverbial keys to Congress are being handed to: a Republican caucus looking less like the party of Ronald Reagan every day. Instead, it is an almost entirely new party, one that finds committees on Planned Parenthood, Benghazi and Hillary Clinton’s emails more vital to the American people than a crumbling infrastructure, glaring economic inequality or social injustices.
Although the new speaker will probably be difficult to negotiate with, Boehner’s resignation last month presents a possibility for political change. Since his announcement, Boehner has been fearless in confronting the radicalization of his party. If Boehner is unafraid of the consequences, he can exploit his speakership to stop the gridlock within Congress. He could rally enough moderates in the Republican Party along with Democrats to pass legislation. It would be a fitful conclusion for the last member of the Gang of Seven as he walks out the door.
Kevin Foster is a UF political science senior. His column usually appears on Thursdays.
