But even after the resignation announcement was made, during the period in which many of Boehner's colleagues were commenting on the "shock" of the situation, two Republican Senators/Presidential Candidates took the opportunity voice their further disapproval with GOP leadership in Congress. Sen. Marco Rubio received thunderous applause after announcing Boehner's resignation to a gathering at the Values Voter Summit in D.C. Rubio also went on to say, "We've sent a Republican majority to Congress, yet they still aren’t able to stop our country from sliding in the wrong direction," and blamed this Republican failure on the idea that, "too many leaders in both parties have fallen out of touch with America." Sen. Ted Cruz took the opportunity to speak to an annual meeting of Christian conservatives arranged by the Family Research Council and stress his effort to convince leaders to "do the right thing," and to "stand up and lead."
It's interesting to see the strategies each Senator is using in these speeches. It seems as though each is making an attempt to appeal to to the American public to gain ground in the Republican Primary polls. But while Cruz continues his attempts to appeal to American morals (specifically Christian morality) by being the one to "stand for life" and the one who encourages others to "do the right thing," Marco Rubio seems as though he's attempting to distance himself from other politicians as someone who is not "out of touch with America." This seems as though it is almost a way for Rubio, as a politician, to appeal to the people in a similar way that non-politicians such as Trump, Fiorina, and Carson have been. He even attempts to speak as a member of the constituencies who are not seeing the results for which they voted by saying "we've sent," as if he was a dissatisfied voter himself. And, it might work out for him. We've mentioned that people tend to highly disapprove of the job Congress does as a whole, so separating himself from this unpopular body might reflect positively upon his polling numbers. However, it might not. Appealing to the public as a non-political politician was the selling point of Gov. Chris Christie's campaign as he tried to present himself as a strait talking, average-joe-type of person. But, it seems as if the presence of actual non-polticans is overshadowing such an attempt. I wonder if Rubio will continue this tactic as his campaign continues or if he will adopt another strategy to compete in the Primaries.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/254909-boehner-to-resign-in-october
http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/boehner-stuns-colleagues-resignation-announcement/?dcz=
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/254886-boehner-gop-settle-on-strategy-to-prevent-oct-1-shutdown
http://www.rollcall.com/news/rubio_cruz_call_for_new_leadership_direction_as_boehner_quits-243840-1.html?pos=hln
4 comments:
It is interesting that Rubio is trying to use the average joe tactic as a campaign strategy. Why does the general public desire relatable persons as politicians during periods of voting, but as soon as they get into office they are expected to become in a sense, robotic? The stress of being Speaker of the House was very clear not just in the decisions that Boehner had to make, but it was physically taking a toll on him. There was a constant look of exhaustion spread across his face. While I understand that he holds a very critical position in government, it is unfair to ignore his humanness. Politicians are not gods- they are not indestructible. We fail to appreciate that these are humans with human emotions and lives to lead outside of the office.
Boehner claimed that his meeting with the Pope was a crystalizing moment. He stated that the Pope had asked Boehner to pray for him and he thought to himself “who am I to pray for the Pope?” I feel as though this interaction opened the Speaker’s eyes by allowing him to see that there are bigger things than the conflict within the House. While it is obviously of heavy importance, I believe that if a certain position is physically, emotionally, or mentally harming an individual then it is not worth it. Politicians are put under a lot of pressure and expected to be more than the average person, so when the Pope, a leader of a large religious group, asked for help, Boehner realized that not everyone has to be as strong as the public expects them to be. He drew on the Pope’s words as he addressed Congress.
Claiming that he is stepping down to better the House under times of turmoil, it appears as though this is a selfless act in order to help the country that the Speaker cares about so deeply. However it may also be a selfish act, to preserve control over himself- and that is acceptable as well. It comes to a point where one must decide between power and happiness and I believe the pressures of the Speaker position were dangerous to the health of Boehner. Boehner seemed exhausted by the fight, but at peace with his final decision. Time will only tell how the pressures will affect the next Speaker, but as a country I think we should recognize that whatever campaign strategy they use for election, every politician is simply a human being with human emotions.
It's fascinating to look at how other politicians will use this moment to gain ground in their own campaigns. Although, I see how Rubio and Cruz are consciously employing tactics to gain support from Boehner's resignation, I'm not sure it will help in the long run. Boehner's resignation comes at a time when the House can't compromise because of such extreme partisanship. John Boehner remained a rather moderate Republican leader during this time, and his own party wasn't very happy about it. Boehner worked to compromise with he Democrats in the House, especially recently as a government shutdown became a very real threat. In my opinion, I think Boehner's resignation will only hurt the Republicans in Congress, specifically the politicians that criticized Boehner for working with Democrats.
Americans are frustrated with Congress and upset that members aren't working together to get stuff done. Strong conservatives, like the ones Rubio and Cruz have appealed to might be happy with the resignation. But I think most Americans are saddened by this. Moderates and Democrats were proud of Boehner's efforts to unite the House. I think that it will be those same Americans that derail the campaigns of the more conservative members of Congress. Boehner reached a point where he couldn't keep doing his job. He was disappointed in the institution and the members of the House. That frustration and disappointment was clear in his resignation announcement and I think it's evident to the American people. John Boehner's resignation might have been celebrated by some but not by most, and for those who didn't celebrate it, they likely won't be supporting the Congressmen and women that applauded this announcement.
I'm almost positive that I've read in several articles before that both Rubio and Cruz have argued that the reason they miss so many votes is because of their distrust in congress and the senate as a whole. Someone like Cruz is far right, and his criticism of Boehner could totally be pinned directly on his distaste for compromising with the democratic party as it stands today. I think it's interesting to look at people like Cruz and ponder whether it's these powerful politicians such as him that drive this lack of compromise, because of their strong support of their far left or far right views. On the other side of the political spectrum, one could look into Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, or even Hillary Clinton and see how often they were willing to be more moderate, or willing to compromise with the GOP. It's odd that some politicians would attack another in their own party just for willing to compromise. Isn't that what our legislative branch is supposed to be all about?
Here's an interesting articleto read about this far left vs far right era and Elizabeth Warren:
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/elizabeth-warren-would-be-the-most-liberal-democratic-nominee-since-1972/
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