General

John Boehner Blog Roundup

First vote was Blunt 110, Boehner 79 and Shadegg 40.  Since Blunt didn’t get a majority outright there was a runoff.  This is where Boehner’s strategy of sticking very close to Shadegg paid off.  Shadegg threw his support behind Boehner and his peeps did the same.

Final vote Boehner 122, Blunt 109.

From the major Pundits.

Jonah G:

I haven’t had much to add to the House leadership race, but one observation I think might be worth making is that this is bad news for the Democrats. I am agnostic about whether Boehner is a good pick to lead the House GOP. I’m also undecided about the merits of at least some of the charges against Tom Delay. But as a public relations matter Delay was a liability. Some of that liability was attributable to Delay’s own actions. And some of it was due to a years of attacks by Democrats. The Democrats have invested a great deal in the demonization of “the Hammer” since the late 1990s. Obviously, Democrats will try to paint Boehner as a Delay clone and the leadership changes as superficial. Fair or not, it’s unlikely they will be able to demonize Boehner overnight, at least in time for the 2006 elections. Why? Leaving aside the cosmetics and substance of the new Republic reform crusade, the simple fact is that it takes a long time for the American people to get up to speed on new faces and developments in Washington.

Truth-Laid-Bear: 

While the first choice of many of us in the blogosphere, Representative Shadegg, did not win the election, his impact on the race cannot be denied. His candidacy reminded his fellow Representatives that real reform, and real change in the leadership, was not simply the right thing to do, but utterly necessary to ensure the success of the GOP in November.

It is my sincere hope that Representative Boehner takes this message to heart, and takes up the banner of real reform with enthusiasm and commitment. And his past statements give reason for optimism. In our blogger conference call, and in his interview with Hugh Hewitt, Rep. Boehner reiterated his strong commitment against earmarks, and expressed support for the idea of posting legislation online for 72 hours prior to any vote. Limited government fans will be pleased with his direct and positive answer when asked if he’d support rules requiring legislation to contain statements identifying the authority within the Constitution that grants the Congress to legislate in that area (”That’d be fine with me.”), and his even more direct answer to concerns about McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform (”We ought to blow the whole bill up.”).

From the left side…

The Plank:

House Republicans have just elected John Boehner to replace Roy Blunt as their majority leader. A Plank reader who works for a senior Democratic congressman reacts with dismay:

Blunt was status quo, we can run against status quo. Shadegg would have been a fresh face, would have gotten rid of ear marks, and would have taken them back to their roots but at the same time would have killed their moderates and helped to put four seats in Pennsylvania, two seats in Connecticut, and two in NJ into more vulnerability. Boehner gives the appearance of reform for GOP vulnerables to run on, provides a new face that can’t be demonized by Dems (hard to demonize someone as the “Congressman from Sallie Mae”, much easier when the Majority Leader is married to a tobacco lobbyist) and is frankly a better legislator than either Blunt or Shadegg. Watch over the next few months as Pelosi goes after him, she will sound increasingly more shrill, and he will get more done.

This correspondent thinks this move may have saved Republicans several seats in the midterm elections. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but most of the above analysis sounds at least plausible to me. Any other Hill Democrats want to chime in? P.S. Shrewd reader/former Hill staffer M.H. offers this delightful addendum:

The good news is that Blunt will keep his whip job and he will be trying to sabotage Boehner for the rest of the year. They will make Steny and Nancy look like good friends.

–Michael Crowley
The Prospect:

Boehner’s bid as a reformist candidate doesn’t really hold up under scrutiny, but perhaps we can expect some changes in areas outside of ethics. The concessions Boehner must have made to Shadegg probably leave him beholden to the conservatives in the caucus. Perhaps we can expect a somewhat more ideologically “pure” House GOP caucus in the future.

Daily Kos is pushing the tobacco thing.  Probably because that’s all they got.  Guys that was TEN years ago, he’s apologized.  Give it a rest.

Oh-02 is also pushing the “corruption” angle.  They must hurry, cuz they only have a few months to demonize Boehner.

Local reaction at WMD, LargeBill and BizzyBlog has some questions.
 
And don’t miss this morning’s prescient column by Mike Meckler is spot-on.

OhioGuy gets a laugh from me:

Roy Blunt was overheard to say:

I would like to thank the 128 people that promised me their vote, and the 74 that actually voted for me.

Congrats John. Care to reconsider those earmarks..Taft needs help with Jobs around here.

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