Sorry, Boehner. She's the only thing standing between you and a bucket of tar and feathers.
House Democrats saved House Speaker John Boehner—and the Republicans—from another disastrous government shutdown when they helped him pass the Homeland Security funding bill. Then they
helped him save Amtrak. Now they're letting him know they'll
help him keep his job.
Tea Party Republicans contemplating a bid to oust Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) shouldn't count on Democrats to help them unseat the Speaker.
And without their support, there is no chance to topple Boehner in this Congress.
It's not all out of the goodness of their hearts. It's out of a desire to actually save the institution.
"I'd probably vote for Boehner [because] who the hell is going to replace him? [Ted] Yoho?" Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said Wednesday, referencing the Florida Tea Party Republican who's fought Boehner on a host of bipartisan compromise bills.
"In terms of the institution, I would rather have John Boehner as the Speaker than some of these characters who came here thinking that they're going to change the world," Pascrell added. […]
"I think it would pose a real existential dilemma for us," said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). "I mean, on the one hand, if you have a chance to take out a Republican Speaker, why wouldn't you do that? On the other hand, if the obvious alternative is a Tea Party Speaker, now you've got to worry not only about your own political situation but frankly about the institution.
"I think that would give very serious pause to the Democrats."
And if Boehner fights off an extremist coup with the help of Democrats, further embittering his crazy opposition, well, so much the better. The sooner the Republican party collapses around itself in civil war, the sooner it can rebuild as a serious governing party. If there's anyone serious left there to do so.