The 114th Congress (spanning 2015-2017)

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In summary, the next US Congress is expected to focus on repealing Obamacare, building the Keystone XL pipeline, and immigration.
  • #71
Astronuc said:
I thought Boehner was just stepping down from the Speaker of the House position, but NPR played his statement where he indicated that he is resigning from Congress effective end of October.
He can get very rich as a lobbyist. His earning power would decay were he to remain in Congress.
 
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  • #72
Who will replace Boehner?
http://news.yahoo.com/short-list-replace-house-speaker-john-boehner-223025561.html

Maybe get someone from outside of Washington.
 
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  • #73
Astronuc said:
Maybe get someone from outside of Washington.

That would be the longest of long shots. Like Andromeda galaxy long.
 
  • #75
lisab said:
Wow! This is completely surprising to me - I didn't see it coming at all, I thought Boehner could stand up to the hardliners in the R party. Just...wow.
Yeah, I don't get it. Why now and why resign his seat and not just his speakership? Is he running for president? Running from a scandal we don't know about yet? This doesn't make any sense to me.

From one of Astronuc's articles:
During a press conference at the Capitol, Boehner says he made his decision this morning, after picking up a cup of coffee.

"I thought: today is the day I'm going to do this ... as simple as that," Boehner said.
A well thought-out decision! Did he just crack?
 
  • #76
russ_watters said:
Yeah, I don't get it. Why now and why resign his seat and not just his speakership? Is he running for president? Running from a scandal we don't know about yet? This doesn't make any sense to me.

From one of Astronuc's articles:

A well thought-out decision! Did he just crack?

My guesses: he resigned the speakership because the alternative was to be voted out. few men will accept demotions. It's depressing and humiliating to return to flunkyhood. A Presidential run seems to me most unlikely. The public isn't clamoring for a Boehner presidency.

I expect Boehner to make yearly multimillions as a lobbyist. Did you know that former PM Tony Blair is paid 3 million dollars a year by JPMorgan Chase?
 
  • #77
russ_watters said:
A well thought-out decision! Did he just crack?
Suddenly go sane? Recognize the futility of fighting "the good fight?"
 
  • #78
Pete's Diner in Washington, DC has been serving the Speaker of the House his sausage and eggs for more than 20 years.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/why-john-boehners-capitol-hill-221510996.html

Boehner sounds like a down-to-earth person.
 
  • #79
Hornbein said:
My guesses: he resigned the speakership because the alternative was to be voted out.
A Boehner challenge was already tried and ended in failure.

Boehner has held elective office for 30 consecutive years, 24 of them in the House. It may be that he's just done.
 
  • #80
mheslep said:
A Boehner challenge was already tried and ended in failure.

Boehner has held elective office for 30 consecutive years, 24 of them in the House. It may be that he's just done.

I read that article. It didn't say that the challenge failed. Instead, it reads that the motion was made at the end of July and no move would be made until after the six-week recess. That means the challenge would occur in mid-September.
 
  • #81
  • #83
Hornbein said:
Eight months is a long time in the House, with their 24-month terms.
Sure, though I don't see how that's relevant to the odds that Boehner left because he feared being voted out. Moreover, those earlier attempts established the consequences of failed attempts: immediate removal from choice posts. If one strikes at the king, you must kill him.
 
  • #84
As Boehner departs, his to-do list could remain undone
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/as-boehner-departs-his-to-do-list-could-remain-090026430.html
 
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  • #85
The Republicans in the House were going to vote today to select a candidate to become Speaker, who would have also had to pass a later vote by the full House. But Kevin McCarthy, who originally looked like the best-positioned candidate, dropped out of the race suddenly today.

Boehner has now postponed the vote, and says he will stay in office until a new Speaker is elected, presumably after his original Oct. 1 deadline if necessary.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/08/polit...can-vote-mccarthy-webster-chaffetz/index.html

As a Democrat, I'm going to make a bag of popcorn. :-p
 

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