Remember, as pieces like this begin to proliferate, that you heard it from me first. Does this sound familiar?
By some accounts, there are now enough Republican votes for Boehner to successfully bring a clean government-funding resolution to a vote and send it on to the Senate, ending the shutdown. But Boehner has been so “crippled” since Tea Party–aligned newbies in January threatened to oust him from his post, according to National Review’s well-sourced Robert Costa, that he hasn’t dared to stand up to them since.
“What we’re seeing is the collapse of institutional Republican power,” Costa told The Washington Post.
Adding to the chaos, powerful outside groups have targeted Republicans who have broken with Cruz. When some Republican senators supported cloture on the first House budget bill — meaning, they merely refused to stall a vote on the bill itself — the Senate Conservatives Fund called it the “ultimate betrayal.” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the SCF said, was a “turncoat” who had “surrendered to Barack Obama.”
Combined, this has created a no-win situation for Boehner, leaving him, and the party, hopelessly hamstrung. Under fire from both sides in his own caucus, he will eventually have to cut one wing loose and suffer the backlash.
Whatever Boehner decides, it could determine who is in control of the Republican Party: The Ted Cruz wing or what is left of the establishment.
The Democrats can have a say in this if they are smart and nimble enough to understand the situation and act in time.
