Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio.(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)
WASHINGTON — A long-shot effort to deny John Boehner a third term as speaker gained traction before Tuesday's House vote as two Republicans jumped into the race against the Ohio leader and at least nine GOP lawmakers said they would vote for an alternative candidate.
The brewing rebellion is unlikely to succeed — at least 29 Republicans would have to vote against Boehner to strip him of the gavel. That would force the leadership election to a second ballot.
But having an attempted coup in the works should make Tuesday's roll call on the House floor a dramatic, tense scene as the speaker's conservative critics shout out the names of other candidates and the anti-Boehner votes add up. Even if Boehner wins a comfortable majority, the public rebellion will serve as a high-profile reminder of the opposition he faces within his own Republican ranks as the 114th Congress gets underway.
ONPOLITICS
Rep. Dave Brat: Boehner won't have my support
"It's not good because it shows there's dissatisfaction with him inside his own conference, and it shows he has an ideologically divided conference," said Ronald Peters, a professor at the University of Oklahoma and an expert on the speakership.
Monday, Indiana Rep. Marlin Stutzman became the latest Republican to announce he would oppose Boehner. He said voters "want new leadership in Congress that will stand up to President Obama's big-government policies and advance a common-sense conservative reform agenda. ... I gave my word to my constituents back home in Indiana that I would do everything I could to bring a fresh start to Washington. My word will be kept, and I am hopeful tomorrow's vote will help bring that fresh start."
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., made a splash over the weekend when he said he would not support Boehner and accused his neighboring congressman of being an "undemocratic" and "irresponsible" leader.
Seven other Republicans have said they would not support Boehner. Over the weekend, two of them — Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas and Ted Yoho of Florida — said they are willing to run against Boehner. Both are Tea Party favorites.
That brings the anti-Boehner faction to at least nine — well short of the number needed to dislodge him.
USA TODAY
GOP under the gun as it takes control of Congress
The speaker election will take place shortly after noon Tuesday, one of the first orders of business for the 114th Congress. There will be 434 members of Congress in the chamber, assuming they all come to the floor for the vote. (One Republican, New York Rep. Michael Grimm, resigned his seat, effective Monday, after pleading guilty to tax evasion.)
Boehner has to win a majority of the votes cast to secure a third term — 218 votes if every lawmaker votes, fewer if some abstain.
The speaker's spokesman, Michael Steel, has said Boehner fully expects to be elected speaker by the full House on Tuesday. He noted that House Republicans selected Boehner as the GOP leader in a closed-door contest shortly after the election in November.
Peters agreed Boehner will win a third term, saying opponents simply "will not have enough votes to bollix the thing up."
He said those who have announced their anti-Boehner vote are "posturing for their constituents back home" and will accomplish "very little" with their public display of opposition.
Even some Republicans expressed annoyance with the conservative revolt, saying if Yoho or Gohmert wanted to challenge the speaker, they should have done so in November when the GOP conference met to select its leaders.
"I think it strikes … an opportunist streak more than anything else,'' said New York Rep. Tom Reed. "The time for petty infighting in the Republican Party should come to an end, and we should focus on the opportunity before us.''
Boehner's foes said they will make a strong showing — and send Boehner a message, regardless of whether they oust him.
"This is a tough fight," but it's "doable," said Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group pushing lawmakers not to support Boehner.
He predicted momentum would build for Boehner's ouster right up until the roll call begins. If it doesn't work, he said, the message will be "change, or we'll be back."
Contributing: Maureen Groppe and Brian Tumulty. Follow @dshesgreen on Twitter.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed