Republicans in Disarray

It's a wonder John Boehner isn't on 24/7 crying jag with the way this week is going for him. He's finding out early that obstruction is easy; governing is hard. Especially when you have a bunch of inexperienced yahoos in your party who are all looking for their fifteen minutes of fame and then some.

The willingness to buck the leadership was not unexpected given the size of the Republican freshman class, 87 new members, and the fact that newcomers and many veterans felt empowered by election results they read as a mandate to push spending cuts and shake up Congress.

“It is going to take a while for them to find their way,” said Representative John B. Larson of Connecticut, chairman of the Democratic Caucus. “For so many of their new members, discipline within the party and allegiance to a party doesn’t mean an awful lot.”

I'm not sure that's true. Clearly Boehner didn't expect the mutiny on the Patriot Act or he wouldn't have fast tracked it. And it's not clear why he thought "a measure to provide aid to workers displaced by new trade agreements" was going to get passed by any Republicans, new or old. As evidenced by their continued refusal to extend benefits, it seems rather clear they hate unemployed people.

I was surprised he didn't get more votes for demanding the United Nations give us our money back though. Thought the UN was a universal villian for the GOP. And then there's the demand for really making those jugular vein level $100 billion spending cuts. That has the potential to turn into an intercine bloodbath.

I have a feeling Boehner must be feeling a bit like the designated driver at a frat party, with the drunk guys ready to beat him up to get their car keys back.