The tea party Taliban
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Read more: Opinion: The tea party Taliban - Martin Frost - POLITICO.com
By MARTIN FROST | 7/29/11 5:59 PM EDT
Ten years ago, the Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed two gigantic figures of Buddha, carved into a hillside 18 centuries before. The world was aghast at this barbarian act taken in the name of religious purity. But was powerless to stop it.
We now have a group of U.S. politicians seeking political purity, who seem to have much in common with the Taliban. They are tea party members; and because of blind adherence to smaller government, they seem intent on risking destroying what American political leaders have constructed in more than two centuries of hard, often painful work. Like the Taliban, they see compromise as an unacceptable alternative.
As part of the House Republican majority, these uncompromising tea party members present an enormous challenge to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) as he seeks to reach a compromise which can avert an unprecedented U.S. default on Aug. 2.
What can the speaker to do in the days ahead and how does he survive as House leader? If the country defaults, Boehner is probably toast. The question is how he avoids a default and still survives in a fractured conference.
I served in Congress with Boehner for 14 years, and I know him to be an honorable man who wants to legislate in a constructive, though conservative way. Here are his options:
(1) Convince enough of the tea party members to support a plan that gives them 90 percent of what they set out to achieve no new taxes and significant budget cuts. He has the opportunity to do this when his plan comes up for a vote in the House and when something comes back from the Senate in the form of a compromise. Boehner must simply lay his speakership on the line as Thomas P. Tip ONeill and Newt Gingrich were willing to do by telling his caucus that he must have their vote if he is to be able to continue serving as their leader.
Ten years ago, the Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed two gigantic figures of Buddha, carved into a hillside 18 centuries before. The world was aghast at this barbarian act taken in the name of religious purity. But was powerless to stop it.
We now have a group of U.S. politicians seeking political purity, who seem to have much in common with the Taliban. They are tea party members; and because of blind adherence to smaller government, they seem intent on risking destroying what American political leaders have constructed in more than two centuries of hard, often painful work. Like the Taliban, they see compromise as an unacceptable alternative.
As part of the House Republican majority, these uncompromising tea party members present an enormous challenge to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) as he seeks to reach a compromise which can avert an unprecedented U.S. default on Aug. 2.
What can the speaker to do in the days ahead and how does he survive as House leader? If the country defaults, Boehner is probably toast. The question is how he avoids a default and still survives in a fractured conference.
I served in Congress with Boehner for 14 years, and I know him to be an honorable man who wants to legislate in a constructive, though conservative way. Here are his options:
(1) Convince enough of the tea party members to support a plan that gives them 90 percent of what they set out to achieve no new taxes and significant budget cuts. He has the opportunity to do this when his plan comes up for a vote in the House and when something comes back from the Senate in the form of a compromise. Boehner must simply lay his speakership on the line as Thomas P. Tip ONeill and Newt Gingrich were willing to do by telling his caucus that he must have their vote if he is to be able to continue serving as their leader.
*snip*
Read more: Opinion: The tea party Taliban - Martin Frost - POLITICO.com
