John Boehner: Planned Prevention

A government shutdown, even for a single day, has devastating repercussions for not only public officials, but for the entirety of the nation. For instance, the 2013 shutdown resulted in a net loss of 24 billion dollars in productivity. Beyond economic loss, also comes significant harms to services such as social security, medicare, and even national parks (Schoen). The woes of the 2013 shutdown would certainly have once again taken hold of the United States if not for the political courage of former Speaker of the House John Boehner. Through compromise and resolve amidst threats from his own party, Boehner “in spite of pressures” (Kennedy ) risked and eventually sacrificed his political career to pass a necessary federal budget and by extension avoid a shutdown.

Boehner's journey to a utilitarian standpoint rather than looking through a partisan lens was anything but short. Rising to his role of Speaker with the support of the far right, Boehner at first was a staunch conservative. (Kane). Ironically, he even helped cause the 2013 shutdown (Pergram). However, after spending time as Speaker and not only seeing the political repercussions but the tangible harms of the 2013 shutdown, Boehner increasingly understood the necessity of negotiation. In more than one occasion, such as working with Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to settle the debt ceiling controversy in early 2015 (Sullivan), Boehner demonstrated his keen desire for compromise rather than giving in to partisan animosity.

It was the former speaker’s ability to prioritize the American people over his party on the contentious issue of Planned Parenthood, however, that truly deserves commendation. During the fall of 2015, a “must pass” budget bill became the subject of much contention. Due to alleged videos that depicted Planned Parenthood affiliates “discussing the sale of fetal tissues,” Republicans fervently desired to defund the organization. Originally unsuccessfully attempting to directly defund the organization’s $528 million budget, the Grand Old Party turned to other ways to repeal federal support (Arkin). To this end, House Republicans looked to add the stipulation of defunding the organization in the necessary 2015 budget . The issue, however, would be that neither the Senate nor the Democratic President Barack Obama would allow such a budget to be passed as Democrats were steadfast in their endorsement of Planned Parenthood. Conservatives in the House asked Boehner either to ensure that his backers would support a budget defunding Planned Parenthood or to make use of the Republican-created, nonofficial Hastert Rule in which the Speaker does not bring a certain bill to the floor due to certain conditions. As a result of both, the Federal Government would not pass a budget by the deadline of September 31, and similar to 2013, would be forced to shut down (Everett).

If Boehner chose not to take either of these routes, the threats were not only verbal, rather they started to manifest as definite harms to his very position and political standing. These ultimatums came from the 37 members of the Freedom Caucus. Not only did right-wing news sources start to label Boehner as weak and assert he “was colluding with Democrats,” (Baldwin) but Republican politicians also continued to pressure Boehner to push for the government shutdown. As the vote came closer, the Freedom Caucus even threatened Boehner with a vote of no confidence if he didn’t a comply — a vote that could result in the end of his career (Bycoffe, Bialik and Aaron).

Then, he did what very few politicians would have done to ensure the passage of a budget— to ensure the the vitality of the nation: he resigned (Dinan).

Boehner decided to resign from his post after the budget deal was passed, explaining, “prolonged leadership turmoil” (Dinan). Through his resignation, the slander and threats from his party became insignificant and instead his sole focus was on passing the necessary budget and avoiding a shutdown. He was no longer tied down by needing to be politically expedient, or playing politics whatsoever.

The former Speaker worked with both Democrats, taking a large step across the aisle, and along with his own Republican supporters to ensure the already Senate-passed “clean” budget bill, that still funded Planned Parenthood, would also get the House’s approval. Instead of making use of the Hastert Rule, Boehner presented the bill to the House floor before the deadline. Because of his compromise with Democrats, Boehner was able to replace the lost Republican votes. And so, the Budget Bill passed with 266 votes for and 167 votes against (Herszenhorn). Not only was Boehner able to prevent a much dreaded government shutdown, but he also through blatant sacrifice, protected an agency that provided women’s healthcare to millions across the nation. More impressive, Boehner, through compromise, received nearly unanimous Democratic support.

With his resignation on the horizon, Boehner also displayed one last form of courage: an admission of his mistakes. Discussing his work in the 2013 government shutdown, he explained, “this whole idea that we were going to shut down the government to get rid of Obamacare in 2013, this plan never had chance.” He furthered, “But a lot of my Republican colleagues who knew it was a fool’s errand, were getting all this pressure from home to do this” (qtd. in Martin). Boehner does more than recognizing his wrongdoings, he also highlights why his work in 2015 was incredible: he didn’t give into “pressures from home,” (Kenedy) pressures from colleagues, pressures from the media, or pressures from anywhere.

Though many have tried to vilify Boehner by explaining his resignation made him weak, the former Speaker’s sacrifice is anything but. Boehner truly “followed his conscience” in spite of the potential “loss of friends, fortune, contentment, [or] even the esteem of his fellow men.” His sacrifice is not a sign of shortcoming, rather it is a testament to his political courage and explanation why men and women such as the current Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan call him “selfless.” As Ryan asserts, Boehner's actions truly “helped move the country forward” (qtd. in Debonis).

A government shutdown, even for a single day, has devastating repercussions for not only public officials, but for the entirety of the nation. For instance, the 2013 shutdown resulted in a net loss of 24 billion dollars in productivity. Beyond economic loss, also comes significant harms to services such as social security, medicare, and even national parks (Schoen). The woes of the 2013 shutdown would certainly have once again taken hold of the United States if not for the political courage of former Speaker of the House John Boehner. Through compromise and resolve amidst threats from his own party, Boehner “in spite of pressures” (Kennedy ) risked and eventually sacrificed his political career to pass a necessary federal budget and by extension avoid a shutdown.

Works Cited:

Arkin, James. "Conservatives Push to Defund Planned Parenthood." RealClearPolitics. N.p., 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 03 Jan. 2017.

Baldwin, Chuck. "Ever Wonder If The Democrats And Republicans Have Actually Been In Collusion The Whole Time?" Western Journalism. N.p., 14 Aug. 2015. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Bycoffe, Carl Bialik and Aaron. "The Hard-Line Republicans Who Pushed John Boehner Out." FiveThirtyEight. FiveThirtyEight, 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 03 Jan. 2017.

Debonis, Mike. "House Speaker John Boehner to Resign at End of October." The Washington Post. WP Company, 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Dinan, Stephen. "John Boehner Resigns; Speaker Cites Desire to Avoid ‘prolonged Leadership Turmoil’." The Washington Times. The Washington Times, 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Everett, Burgess. "How Planned Parenthood Could Shut down the Government." POLITICO. N.p., 29 July 2015. Web. 03 Jan. 2017.

Herszenhorn, David. "House Approves Budget, Providing ‘Clean’ Exit That John Boehner Sought." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Kane, Paul. "The Rise, Fall and Rise of John Boehner." The Washington Post. WP Company, 27 Oct. 2010. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2003. Print.

Martin, Johnathan, and David Herszenhorn. "John Boehner’s Move Deepens a Republican Chasm." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2015. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Pergram, Chad. "GOP Goes All-in on ‘de-fund ObamaCare,’ as Shutdown Looms." Fox News. FOX News Network, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Jan. 2017.

Schoen, John W. "Government Shutdown: Cost Could Be up to $24 Billion." NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Sullivan, Peter. "How Boehner, Pelosi Surprised Everyone with a $200 Billion Deal." TheHill. N.p., 02 Feb. 2016. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.