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durable that it has a name: Boehner

Land. He is often caricatured for the
color of his skin – a famously deep tan
– but he may be more notable for the
thickness of his skin. He’s a surviver
of fierce intraparty power struggles.
If he holds grudges, it doesn’t show.
He likes to quote Reagan: Disagree
without being disagreeable.
Boehner has been willing to reach
across the aisle. In the first year of
the George W. Bush administra-
tion, he forged an unlikely alliance
with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) of
Massachusetts and Rep. George
Miller (D) of California to move
President Bush’s top domestic prior-
ity: education reform. Notably, he did
so over the strong opposition of pow-
erful GOP colleagues.
But Democrats insist that
Boehner’s past record of bipartisan-
ship has been more than eclipsed by
his switch to relentless opposition
in the Obama years. “Our work to-
gether on No Child Left Behind was
one moment in time that has itself
been left behind,” said Mr. Miller,
now chair of the House Education
and Labor Committee, in a statement. 
“Everything since has been partisan
opposition to issues of great impor-
tance to America’s middle class.”
Under Boehner ’s leadership,
House Republicans counted it a vic-
tory to unanimously oppose the
Obama administration’s $814 billion
stimulus plan, health-care reform,
financial regulation, and small-
business tax cuts. On the House floor,
he turned “Hell, no…!” into a mantra
during the health-care debate and,
more recently, while campaigning
for Republican candidates. President
Obama, in turn, repeatedly labeled
Boehner an obstructionist out of touch
with the needs of the middle class.
Will it now be confrontation or
compromise?

What he would do with the gavel

When former Rep. Dennis Hastert
(R) of Illinois was speaker, he set as a
principle that he would only bring leg-
islation to the floor if it had the sup-
port of “a majority of the majority.”
Boehner says he would not insist on
that threshold, noting that he wants to
open up the legislative process. That
would make the chamber more dem-
ocratic – with a decidedly small “d”
– but it would also come with risks.
Democrats could use amendments
to maximize tough votes for the GOP
bill clark/roll call/getty images
majority – a standard tactic for the
GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio will move to a bigger suite in January, if, as expected, he’s elected House speaker by his Republican
COVER STORY
colleagues. His expected elevation to the post will cap a career that began with mopping floors in his family’s bar in Ohio.
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The Christian Science Monitor | NOVEMBER 15, 2010 27