John Boehner is not The Worst Speaker in History
As the Republican congressional collapse continues, I see articles every day, from both sides of the political fence, claiming that John Boehner is the worst Speaker of the House in history. This is complete nonsense and just shows how shallow the American art of political observation is.
The truth is that, ever since Ronald Reagan, the Republican party has worked night and day, year after year, to breed a base which is absolutely impervious to any sort of reason or fact, and which has a built-in hatred of Democrats so strong that it overwhelms every other thought or emotion they may feel.
Well, it worked. Did Boehner contribute to giving birth to this monster? Yes, he did, but no more that virtually every Republican leader in the past 40 years, and far less than Rove, Cheney, Palin and a hundred more I could mention.
The Republican party that these people sent to Congress is, like its base, motivated by hatred and greed, a toxic combination in which reason plays no part. Other than giving in to them and letting them destroy the country completely, there is no way for the Speaker to control them, or to prevent the endless series of disasters which they will continue to produce. Boehner, not a good speaker, but certainly not a craven, corrupt worm after the model of Newt Gingrich, is the victim of a situation that, at worst, he played a very minor role in generating. It doesn't make me feel sorry for him, but I do want to point out that blaming it all on Boehner just aids the real culprits in this situation from having to take responsibility for the ugly perversion of government they have created.
The truth is that, ever since Ronald Reagan, the Republican party has worked night and day, year after year, to breed a base which is absolutely impervious to any sort of reason or fact, and which has a built-in hatred of Democrats so strong that it overwhelms every other thought or emotion they may feel.
Well, it worked. Did Boehner contribute to giving birth to this monster? Yes, he did, but no more that virtually every Republican leader in the past 40 years, and far less than Rove, Cheney, Palin and a hundred more I could mention.
The Republican party that these people sent to Congress is, like its base, motivated by hatred and greed, a toxic combination in which reason plays no part. Other than giving in to them and letting them destroy the country completely, there is no way for the Speaker to control them, or to prevent the endless series of disasters which they will continue to produce. Boehner, not a good speaker, but certainly not a craven, corrupt worm after the model of Newt Gingrich, is the victim of a situation that, at worst, he played a very minor role in generating. It doesn't make me feel sorry for him, but I do want to point out that blaming it all on Boehner just aids the real culprits in this situation from having to take responsibility for the ugly perversion of government they have created.
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