John Boehner: Cat herder

[DonViejo]

Being Speaker of the House sure ain't what it used to be

Matt K. Lewis | 6:19am EST

The most under-appreciated political trend of our time may be the loss of power wielded by the Speaker of the House. Through little fault of his own, John Boehner has, essentially, become a feckless herder of cats.

President Obama can unilaterally settle on a position — and then use the bully pulpit to sell it. Boehner, on the other hand, lacks the trappings of the presidency. Instead, he has 200-plus Congressional Republicans he must cajole or intimidate — and he has to do it without the carrots and sticks his predecessors once wielded.

On Sunday, Boehner appeared on Fox News Sunday. He knocked the president for not being serious about making a fiscal-cliff deal, and the Republican's remarks made plenty of sense. But one couldn't help but get the feeling that Boehner was caught in the middle — a sort of emissary between the conservatives in the House and the Democrat in the White House. Being an emissary, of course, is a respectable role — but it is a far cry from being a leader who commands followers to ask "how high" when he says, "jump." These days, being Speaker of the House is sort of like being an auto-worker. You might still be able to find work, but it sure as hell ain't what it used to be.

Has any job deteriorated faster than Speaker of the House? The position was once powerful and revered. Today, it's a mostly thankless job that consists of lots of responsibility, but little power. It's almost like going from being a rodeo cowboy to a rodeo clown — all in the span of a generation.

read more:
http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/237218/john-boehner-cat-herder

[Scuba]

1. Sounds like a buncha crap. Boner created his own problems. If this statement is indicative ...

of the rest, I don't need to read it:

(Boehner) "knocked the president for not being serious about making a fiscal-cliff deal, and the Republican's remarks made plenty of sense."

What total bullshit.

[dballance]

2. "the Republican's remarks made plenty of sense." Since when?

Next to never next Tuesday.

[leftyohiolib]

3. the house is in charge of spending the money so... dude where's you plan

[MADem]

4. Whaaa whaaa whaaa....poor Bonehead.

Trent Lott was the first one I heard the "herding cats" reference from, I think...

If Bonehead has "little power" it's because he doesn't understand how to accrue it. Pelosi didn't have these problems--then again, she understood how to work with people who had diverse interests and occasionally conflicting agendas. She also had a robust team that understood the value of Congressional PACs.

[Sunlei]

5. worse thing is, if anything happens to Pres.,VP..Boehners inline for the position--horrible!!

wish there was a way for the American citizens to fire him.

[TDale313]

6. I've always felt...

That dems were more the unherded cats. Republicans pretty much strike me as pack animals... they are just in pretty ugly shape right now cause they don't have their strong alpha.

[MarianJack]

7. boner is a weak speaker because...

...he lives in terror of the teabaggers.

He doesn't know one simple rule; Leaders DON'T grovel to those that they're supposed to lead!

PEACE!

[Sky Masterson]

8. That should say John Boehner: Cult herder

[csziggy]

10. Yes! Comparing Republicans to cats is an insult to cats!

Cats may be hard to herd but they will act in their self interest. Republicans have no idea what their self interests are.

[pansypoo53219]

9. this is what happens when you only go right. you go in circles.

[AlinPA]

11. That's bullshit. He is a teabagger himself, and following Norquist's commands.