John Boehner: The New Speaker

It has been four years since the House of Representatives has been led by a Republican. With John Boehner’s ascension to the position of Speaker of the House, the newly sworn in 112^th Congress will see a much different course than that led by predecessor, Nancy Pelosi. With his Mid-Western roots and conservative approach to politics, Boehner was a likely candidate to lead the new Republican majority; what matters now is will his leadership be effective?

The 2010 mid-term election was one of the most heated in years. With health care a top issue during the pre-election debates, the new Congress will now face the reality of repealing the bill. John Boehner will now have to lead this fight and garner the support of the public who, in recent polls, show a divided view on the issue.

Most public opinion research suggests that just over 44% of Americans would like to see Obama’s Health Care Bill repealed while 40% favor keeping it. Understandably, Republicans make up the majority of those in favor of repealing the bill, but it will be John Boehner’s responsibility to rally Democrats as well who might be on the fence with the issue.

If the House effectively passes a measure to repeal the Health Care Bill, President Obama will almost certainly use his veto power. It will then be up to possible moderate-Democrats to override his veto. Because it’s unlikely Congress will have enough votes to override an executive veto, a different course may be needed to reach a realistic conclusion to the issue.

If Boehner proceeds with the intent of completely destroying the previous bill, he risks Congress becoming just as divided as the previous one was. Perhaps the sensible solution is to make broad and fundamental changes to the current bill while keeping intact the intent of the bill which is to make healthcare available and affordable to the vast majority of Americans – a goal supported by both parties.

However, it seems that John Boehner is looking to make this Congress similar to that of Newt Gingrich’s  and his “Republican Revolution.” While the Congress led by Gingrich made sweeping reforms in the 1990s (with the cooperation of President Clinton), the political landscape was much different then. For one, President Clinton proved to be a conservative Democrat – this was best seen with his Welfare Reform Act of 1996. President Obama hasn’t shown any signs of coming to the center, but maybe, like Clinton, Obama will realize he may have to compromise in order to make progress and achieve the change he promised.

Whatever happens in the next two years, John Boehner will have to answer to his constituents and the broader American electorate. While Congress appears to be on his side, rallying other political officials who may not have similar views will prove to be the biggest challenge with this Congress – that includes the President. If this can’t be achieved, the American people are in store for a stagnant and disappointing era in Congressional history.