My understanding of the White House’s thinking is imperfect at best, but I believe that they are confident that Speaker Boehner will eventually conclude that he has no choice but to go to Nancy Pelosi for the votes he needs to raise the debt ceiling. And the White House doesn’t seem overly concerned that this might cause Boehner to lose his gavel to a real mouth-breather.
I think we ought to be a little more pro-active here, because it’s not enough to win this battle outright if it isn’t going to stop the cycle of governing by crisis and hostage-taking. Forcing the House to capitulate would go a long way towards breaking the cycle, but not if it results in Boehner being replaced by a more implacable foe.
Perhaps the most likely result here is that Boehner will eventually do the responsible thing and then resign. But that is not an optimal outcome. The best outcome is that the Tea Party’s grip on the House is broken entirely so that we can pass legislation, including immigration reform, a more rigorous background check for gun purchases, and appropriations bills.
If Boehner is going to be challenged and defeated by his own party, we ought to at least offer to save him up front. Make a deal now, and agree to lead a sane coalition, and he can keep his job. If we let him twist in the wind and then resign, we won’t end this crisis on the most favorable terms.
It’s unlikely that Boehner would be willing to serve in this new role, but we have no reason not to offer it to him now, rather than later.
