Contrary to the fears of many on the Right, it appears that the Speaker of the House of Representatives does indeed know where his metaphorical bread is buttered:
Die-hard House conservatives failed in their coup against House Speaker John Boehner last Tuesday. By Friday they looked like winners who are pushing their Republican caucus farther right.
Rather than punish and isolate those who opposed him as leader, Boehner surprised many by embracing a major immigration plan that's more stringent and conservative than lawmakers had expected.
It not only would block President Barack Obama's recent limits on deportations, it would undo earlier protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
Mainstream Republicans say Boehner's decision probably portends firmly conservative approaches to other issues.
Joel Gehrke has more details.
Has Boehner had a "come to Jesus moment"? Probably not. But then, it probably isn't like he needed one. This was likely a pragmatic move on his part: the "establishment" wing got the CRomnibus and didn't have to worry about a new government shutdown showdown, and now the Speaker is putting out the resulting fires on his right flank. It's all part of the balancing act that any majority party leader has to constantly maintain, keeping all those disparate plates spinning, but particularly in a majority caucus as fractious and fratricidal as the House Republican Conference in 2015.
All part of the game, my Tea Party friends, all part of the game. And if that game yields the GOP Congress blocking (by barring funding for) O's unlawful Executive amnesty, are any of y'all really going to complain?
Yes, I know, that's a rhetorical question.
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