By Stefani Stone Williams
During the first week of January, droves of Republican voters, thousands of them, unhappy with the status quo in Washington, took to social media, email, mail, faxes and their phones to voice their dissatisfaction with GOP House Speaker John Boehner and to insist he be replaced as speaker. Such an occurrence is virtually unheard of.
But this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. At least two polls of Republican voters conducted near the end of December indicated that between 60 and 75 percent of Republicans wanted Boehner dumped. That’s an astounding percentage.
Because of this, on Jan. 6, 25 Republican congressmen complied with the overwhelming will of their constituents and voted to oust Boehner as speaker. These congressmen got the message; those who voted to keep Boehner didn’t and are not only out of touch with their base, but their actions underscore the disconnect between Washington and voters.
Much of the “anti-Boehner” sentiment was fueled by his continued capitulation to Obama and his dirty antics not long before Christmas to push through the passage of the “CRomnibus” spending bill – a bill that defied the outcome of November’s election by fully funding President Barack Obama’s executive action on amnesty (for millions of illegal aliens).
The bill was so bad, in fact, that 67 Republican representatives voted against it!
Many congressmen were furious over the way Boehner and his team “tricked” and bullied them into supporting CRomnibus. Indiana Rep. Marlin Stutzman, for instance, stated that he felt Boehner deceived him into voting to allow CRomnibus on the House floor for a vote. “I supported the rule [that permitted CRomnibus to be voted on] because I was informed by leadership that the CRomnibus was dead and a short term CR [continuing resolution] would take its place.” Stutzman continued, “I was very surprised and even more disappointed to see the CRomnibus back on the floor. The American people deserve better.”
This, along with Boehner’s previous hollow threats to put the brakes on our lawless president, outraged Republican voters.
Is Boehner finally listening to us?
Incredibly, on Wednesday, Jan. 14, Boehner gave an impassioned speech on the House floor demanding that “Enough is enough!” Voters, he said, expect Congress to stop Obama and his executive amnesty.
I was at first willing to give Boehner the benefit of doubt here, but this looks to be just more smoke and mirrors. Boehner and the House had the opportunity with the CRomnibus bill to stop Obama’s amnesty – but they didn’t. Instead, they fully funded it. Where’s the evidence he finally means business?
Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh explains: “What’s happening now with [Boehner’s recent speech] is simply a sham effort to convince you that your House Republican leadership is listening to you and attempting to implement what you want. But apparently all this is a surface maneuver designed to hide the real intent, which is to, after Obama vetoes it, just give up. ‘OK, well, we tried.’ They hope that you will praise them for the effort they engaged in after Obama goes ahead and implements his executive amnesty, after vetoing the Republican effort.”
Just another reason why the Republican rank and file are fed up with Boehner and the Republican leadership!
What this indicates for 2016
What this month’s anti-Boehner campaign tells us is that there is a huge bloc of fed up, mostly conservative Republicans, who are eager for change and substance.
They want people in public office they can trust to hold true to their word, follow and defend the Constitution, and rein in out-of-control government!
These are the same people who, on Nov. 4, gave Republicans their largest majority in Congress since President Truman. But for the past two presidential elections, this same bloc of voters has been virtually ignored by Republican hopefuls John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 – both of whom employed the same flawed campaign strategy to win almost solely with moderates and independents. To heck with the base of the party, they basically said. Because of this, many conservatives stayed home on election night.
McCain and Romney ignored the two basic rules of campaigning: First, solidify your base; and second, establish contrast between you and your opponent.
Republicans can win the White House in 2016, but not with middle-of-the-road tactics and platitudes. Ronald Reagan won the presidency twice precisely because he offered a substantive, conservative vision for the country. He didn’t waffle or try to appease all sides.
If the Republican presidential nominee can attract these conservative, disillusioned voters – the base of the Republican Party (many of whom are on the verge of bolting the GOP) – the nominee will have it made in 2016.
Stefani Stone Williams is a registered Republican and mother of five. She serves as deputy chief of staff to Ambassador Alan Keyes.
