Will the speaker’s resignation lead to a better, more effective House of Representatives?
Nick Gillespie|Sep. 25, 2015 1:37 pm
So John Boehner is stepping down as Speaker of the House. To paraphrase various Monty Python bits: And there was much rejoicing.
Pretty much from across the spectrum, I’d say. To conservatives, Boehner was a squish on all the things they care about (the Ohioan had the temerity to want to avoid a government shutdown over Planned Parenthood funding). Earlier today, Donald Trump greeted Boehner’s resignation by saying, “I think it’s wonderful, frankly.” That sentiment is widely shared by many, perhaps most Republicans pols.
To liberals, Boehner was always ready to help defend war, surveillance, No Child Left Behind, the unpaid-for Medicare expansion under Bush, you name it.
And for libertarians, he was terrible in virtually every possible way. He was a go-along, get-along kind of guy always willing to do the bidding of state at the expense of the individual. And despite professions on his part of having a small-government vision, he could never quite get around to naming a program he was, you know, actually willing to cut or even trim in any sort of way that might impact things.
As it happens, in my latest Daily Beast column, which went live just a few hours before Boehner announced his resignation, I wrote this about his lack of vision and clarity when it came to minimizing the size, scope, and spending of government:
https://reason.com/blog/2015/09/25/boehner-is-the-type-of-guy-who-couldnt-g
