No one holds more sway in this than Boehner. He is the speaker of the House. Eighteen percent of his House is his problem.
There is a solution. It is a big step. It could make Boehner a national figure, possibly even win the presidency in 2016..
I am probably more forgiving of Boehner than most. He has done well considering what he has to work with. Others may scoff that he did not control his people. In truth, he has navigated very rocky waters without sinking the boat. Because in many cases during negotiations, he has formed with Obama masterful compromises on the issues, only to be sold out by the radicals under his command. Each time, his compromises have put his leadership in jeopardy.
The public Boehner we disparage is not the man himself. That man appears a good man. The public Boehner is one who has no choice but to act in this way because despite being a good man, he is the leader of thugs. Just like a union boss has to represent the union's demands even if it's unrealistic vision is detrimental to all, he still has to represent his union. For the reality exists that when the boss comes back with a negotiated deal, it can be talked and walked down by the influence of one or two hard lined members...
If Boehner waffles, he gets tossed out, and someone worse gets put in.
In the study of management as early as Management 101, there are basic plans for how one handles an insurrection on ones inside. Essentially they dictate that one forms an alliance with another power, rendering the power of the usurpers pointless, and once destroyed, one severs ties with that that ally and goes one's own way.
Here is how Boehner could apply that principal to the Gang of 80.
80 out of the entire body is 18%. 82% Representatives are arrayed against them.
Sometimes by actually doing what you are most afraid of, one can gain the freedom to do what you wish. Boehner needs to cut the Republicans loose. A short statement:
"I hereby release all those of our party to vote their own consciousness in lines with their constituents back home. We will no longer for this session, impinge upon our members to vote as a bloc."
Later in a press interview, he can expound. "We are a divided party. Republicans in some states think totally opposite of those in other states. It is wrong for some to vote against the wishes of their constituents, just because members of other states say so. Either way. This is best for our party as a whole, so we stop fighting each other and both factions can win in their districts. If any Republican wants to vote for any Democratic proposals, they can do so with impunity. It is best for our country, it is best for our constituents, and in the long run, it will save our party...."
If he does this, Boehner, not Obama, will become the man who saved the country. Those Tea Party Republicans will henceforth become equivalent to the obsolete Federalist Party who lingered on for years in a few states after their national prominence dwindled past zero.... After all, they currently now at their peak, only number 18% of the votes in one half of one third of our government.
The political implications for 2016 are enormous. By doing this and breaking the Republican Party's official ties to the radicals, the Republican party gets judged from this moment forward. They are different now. The old characterizations no longer apply.
On the other hand, the Democrats will be judged across their entire stretch of the past 8 years. This gives Republicans a huge edge. Many of those former Republicans to whom the Tea Party scared over to the Democrats, may now return back to their fold....
It will be a guessing game whether a moderate Boehnor could win 2016. It would depend on whether the far-sighted and compromising Boehnor could pull more people away from independents and moderate Democrats (think Ohio, Virginia, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, Colorado) making up for the loss of those rural populations (think Mississippi, West Virginia, Central Plains states) who would support a race-baiting Governor Wallace type as a third party candidate.
It is the best shot Republicans will ever have.
Whether Boehner has it in him is uncertain. It takes great courage to stand up to one's enemies. It takes even greater courage to stand up to one's friends....