Keller @ Large: Republicans Face Tough Battle After John Boehner's Exit
BOSTON (CBS) -- So John Boehner is on his way out as speaker of the House, and why not? How much punching-bag duty can one man take?
Over the past few years, Boehner has been villified as a pushover for the Democrats, as a captive of Washington lobbyists, and as a RINO - Republican In Name Only - all because he couldn't get Obamacare repealed or impose deeper budget cuts.
It didn't matter to Boehner haters that the House is only one branch of government that has to share power with the other branches. Even with a republican majority controlling the Senate, there were limits on how far Boehner could push things, and that left a younger generation of conservatives who won office with rigid promises of radical change frustrated and impatient.
They don't want the "dialogue" the Pope promoted in his remarks to Congress yesterday, they want results, and Boehner couldn't deliver them.
What happens now?
A tough battle over Boehner's successor, with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy trying to fend off a challenge from the hard right wing. And all this is connected to the presidential race, where it's not lost on members that the top three candidates - Trump, Carson and Fiorina - are all outsiders.
These are tough times for the GOP establishment and Boehner's resignation seems likely to just embolden their critics.
Come to think of it, with the way Bernie Sanders is coming on strong in New Hampshire and Iowa, it's not exactly a golden age for the Democratic establishment either.
