Top 10 Times John Boehner Massively Caved
Today, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) announced his resignation. While this might have come as a surprise to his colleagues, it should come as no surprise to Republican voters who have been consistently let down by Boehner’s commitment to passing Obama’s agenda and caving on conservative principles whenever given the chance. Boehner’s stepping down symbolizes a tremendous victory for conservatives everywhere.
While Boehner alleges he was always intending to leave after two terms, it’s no surprise his record of capitulation played a part in this decision.
Here are the Top 10 times John Boehner massively caved:
1.) Boehner pushed through the budget busting Ryan-Murray budget deal which ended the mandatory spending cuts of the sequester. In order to make it happen, he violated a central promise of the 2010 election cycle, that he would allow three days for people to read legislation before the vote. The budget was released and voted on in about 36 hours.
2.) Throughout 2015, Boehner blocked religious liberty legislation from coming to the floor of the House in an effort to avoid confrontation with the President.
3.) In 2015, Boehner pushed through Trade Promotion Authority legislation for the Trans Pacific Partnership. Given this president’s penchant for implementing major policies without Congress, there is a widespread fear that Obama would use these trade agreements to pursue liberal policies, such as changes to our immigration system, labor laws, and global warming regulations.
4.) In a backroom deal, Boehner negotiated with Nancy Pelosi to increase the nation’s debt by $500 billion with a massive increase in Medicare policy, given the innocuous sounding name of “Doc Fix.” With this bill Boehner failed to address the underlying problems in healthcare entitlements and in true back room deal fashion, included several extraneous provisions designed to buy votes.
5.) In 2014, Boehner made a big show of being against President Obama’s executive amnesty. At the end of the day, Boehner, hoping to avoid confrontation, funded Obama’s plan to the tune of $2.5 billion.
6.) In his close to five years as Speaker, Boehner has been just as responsible for growing the nation’s debt as President Obama. He has not used the power of the purse to curtail spending. Perhaps the most egregious debt limit increase was the one that allowed the debt to increase by an infinite amount for the period of one year from February 2014 to March 2015.
7.) Boehner has repeatedly pushed for votes to reauthorize the crony capitalist Export-Import bank. The failure of his plan in 2015 to extend the life of this program was the first chink in his armor.
8.) Boehner, against the objections of conservatives, pushed through a reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is being used by the Obama Administration to de facto enact a nationwide curriculum known as Common Core. (Conservative Review)
9.) Boehner led the effort to bailout the Highway Trust Fund to the tune of $1.8 billion in 2014. For years the Highway Trust Fund has spent more than it has taken in through the federal gas tax. Rather than addressing badly needed fundamental reforms, this legislation papered over the problem with dubious accounting procedures and tax increases to justify higher spending while still leaving the Highway Trust Fund on a path to insolvency.
10.) When it really mattered, Boehner caved instead of standing up for the most vulnerable in our society. He made a show of defunding Planned Parenthood, but would not fight to send the President a bill that ends the $500 million payment in federal that goes to an organization that lets born alive babies die on cold metal tables, then harvests their organs. This was the final cave that finally undid his speakership.
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