Fear, Fighting & Futility

by JASmius

Ah, yes, Thursday morning is here; the news headlines are far, yet some are near; but at what did my waking eyes gapingly peer than three Newsmax items which did my corneas sear.

The first one was a stylish recitation of the gobsmackingly obvious:

Republican lawmakers remain "spooked" by the government shutdown for which they were blamed, veteran political consultant Mary Matalin says.

Matalin told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV that the attitude was evident from House Speaker John Boehner's decision to back a "clean" debt ceiling bill, saying he didn't have enough votes to demand compromise.

"I don't know why the caucus that is half represented by tea party activist types could not agree on either Keystone or military benefits," Matalin said Wednesday.

That, in turn, raises another question: Did House Tea Partiers drive too hard a bargain and overplay their hand, as they are so want to do, or are even they suffering from some degree of "shutdown fatigue" as well?  Or was there a "RINO" tantrum instead?  I wish somebody would ask Boehner, as I'd like to hear it from him directly.  Who knows, maybe he'd laugh maniacally and proclaim that he's been Nancy Pelosi's mole all along.  Mwa-ha-ha-ha.

In the absence of further disclosure of the dynamics of the run-up to this grand accordianing, however, I can only surmise that the conservative Ohioan has finally grown so "sick and tired of," getting kidney-punched by TPers that he's had enough and self-fulfilled their sneering "RINO" prophecies about him.

Which suggests that he should have taken Dick Morris's advice a bit sooner:

House Speaker John Boehner's future may be in jeopardy for supporting the "clean" debt ceiling that was passed on Tuesday because "the tea party groups will hate him," political strategist Dick Morris told Newsmax TV on Wednesday.

"That may ultimately cost him his speakership," Morris, who served in the Bill Clinton White House, told John Bachman on "America's Forum" on Newsmax TV. "It may be very difficult for Boehner to continue as the House leader."

Tea Party groups already hated him.  I don't think he ever imagined when he became Speaker in January 2011 that he would soon be tasked with fighting a two-front war, one in front of him against a radical, foreign-minded, totalitarian, and numerically superior enemy that limited what he could realistically accomplish, the other against erstwhile allies behind him demanding he overnight attain ridiculously ambitious goals that it would take two or more election victories to gain the numbers to even make possible.

I also don't think Tea Partiers ever imagined that they could lose elections like they did in 2012.  2010 was such a joyride that I think it naively imbued a lot of them with the subconscious idea that every cycle, if not would, than at least could be that successful by the simple implement of "Fight! Fight! Fight!"  November 2012 was a bitter lesson in the less pleasant realities of electoral politics, one that too few TPers have been willing to learn.  So they turned their frustrations inward, against their own party, instead.  Which will only damage their cause further - another lesson they're not eager to learn.

Will Tea Partiers finally get John Boehner's head on a spike?  Probably.  Have they given any thought to his successor?  Probably not.  Would they treat a Speaker Cantor or McCarthy any better?  Probably not.  Will they ignite a Tea Party-"Establishment" bloodbath if they don't get the gavel for one of their own?  Probably.  Is Ronald Reagan turning over in his grave at the vaporization of his "11th Commandment"?  Definitely.

However it turns out, I don't think the Speaker himself gives a damn anymore, unless he wants to match Newt Gingrich's record for divided government length of tenure, which would keep him in this two-headed hostage situation until after the 2014 midterms.

Speaking of which, you'll never guess who is still a flaring optimist about same:

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh on Wednesday predicted frustrated voters will create "a wave election like 2010" in this year's midterms, kicking out Democrats "every chance they get."...

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here," Limbaugh declared. "I fully expect the 2014 midterms to be a wave election like 2010. I think the people of this country are gonna sweep Democrats out of office every chance they get, every opportunity they get."

I guess, for all that El Rushbo has draped himself in the Gadsden flag in recent months, he's not as well-connected to the mood of the Tea Party movement as he may believe.  After all, how are the Democrats going to be administered another epic beating this November if "outraged" tighty-righty voters slit their own ideological throats and stay home again?

But, if there's a bright side, it's that they won't have John Boehner to kick around anymore.