On Tuesday, Kevin McCarthy’s slippery hold on the Speakership ended after less than nine months, as members of his own radical, rightwing party aligned to oust him. For context, this is the shortest Speaker’s term in 148 years, and the first time in history an acting Speaker has ever been voted out.
McCarthy’s lightning-quick demise is but the latest example of the dysfunctional Republicans’ inability to coalesce and govern.
I reckon, former Speaker John Boehner is among the least surprised people in America right now, as he has just watched members of his party once again eagerly devour one of their own. I met Boehner a couple of times, and while I don’t agree with him on most things in the political sphere, I did find him at least likable and savvy.
Boehner’s an interesting guy, and while I don’t share many of his political beliefs, I have often wondered over the years if, frankly, he does either.
These days, Boehner seems like so many of these lifelong Republicans, who are finding it harder and harder to keep shoveling away the elephant dung being dumped all over them and our country by a party that has become impossible to tolerate, much less love.
I met Boehner briefly about 20 years ago, long before he rose to Speaker, at a quick meet-and-greet while I was still stateside working at Stars and Stripes headquarters in the National Press Building in Washington, D.C. As I remember, the visit was associated with our efforts to get our reporters credentialed on the Hill.
This had long been an oversight for one of the most venerable, editorially independent newspapers in existence. The argument against credentialing us was that because we took money from the government to help pay for our operating revenue we couldn’t be counted on to be unbiased.
Well, that was nonsense, because anybody who actually read the paper knew we didn’t pull punches. And of course we took money — a very small amount — because our daily circulation route encompassed the entire damn world.
Long story short, we ended up getting our press passes, and Stripes reporters are on the Hill today breaking out news to the most important readers around the world.
Boehner always struck me as a no-nonsense dude, who didn't suffer fools lightly. He gave me a few minutes of his precious time, and then one of his aides politely broke up our small talk and whisked him away to his next meeting.
I remember thinking, as I often did when I was on the Hill, that I wouldn't want that job for all the money in the world. About a decade later, Boehner apparently thought the same thing and quit the Congress altogether when he could no longer stomach his own vile Republican caucus.
The more things change, the more …
The last time I saw him, he was still Speaker, and I was no longer with Stripes, but was lucky enough to be in the House gallery when Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords made her triumphant return after nearly being shot to death. It was an emotional ceremony and Boehner cried on and off throughout the whole thing.
The man had a heart.
I’m not here to fall all over myself gushing about the guy, because I have some severe disagreements with him. He played a major role in oiling up the Republican monster that is currently eating its own, as well as our democracy to this day.
He also was one of the architects of Ohio’s abhorrent, gerrymandered Congressional map that is racist at best, and anti-American at worst.
All that said, he is the last Republican Speaker who ever got a single bit of my respect, and is one of the few Republicans today who is calling out this current disgusting, rightwing mess like he sees it.
I actually bought Boehner's political memoir, On the House last year, because I knew the guy wasn’t about to pull punches. It really is a damn good, lively read.
Because we are in the middle of watching many of Boehner's old, reprehensible colleagues play with matches on the House floor, I thought I’d break out some snippets and anecdotes from that book about a few of those Republican arsonists.
It’s also informative to hear what he says about Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.
Enjoy …
On Ted Cruz: "Lucifer in the flesh. I have Democrat friends and Republican friends. I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life."
On fellow Ohioan and Congressman Jim Jordan: “A political terrorist. I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart ― never building anything, never putting anything together."
On the traitor, Donald Trump: “He incited that bloody insurrection. His refusal to accept the result of the election not only cost Republicans the Senate but led to mob violence. It was painful to watch. He incited that bloody insurrection for nothing more than selfish reasons, perpetuated by the bullshit he’d been shoveling since he lost a fair election the previous November.”
On the traitor, Trump’s, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who tried to oust Boehner from the Speaker job in 2015 and failed: “Meadows literally got on his knees and begged for forgiveness. I hadn’t expected to see a grown man huddled on the rug at my feet. So I did the only thing that came to mind. I took a long, slow drag of my Camel cigarette. Let the tension hang there a little, you know?” While Boehner did ultimately give Meadows a pass, he said, “I knew he was carrying a backpack full of knives and sooner or later he’d try to cut me again with them.”
On former Ohio Governor John Kasich: “(Kasich was so high strung he) would have a hard time relaxing on a beach with a cocktail and a massage. John Kasich requires more effort than all of my other friends put together. But I still love the guy.”
On President Barack Obama: “He was lecturing and haughty, but at the negotiating table Obama was the coolest customer God ever put on this earth.”
On Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: “Nancy Pelosi has a killer instinct and may be the most powerful Speaker ever. She understands power, knows how to use it, and rarely leaves fingerprints.”
(D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. Follow @EarlofEnough)