“There are no easy answers’ but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.”- Ronald Reagan
Speaker Boehner,
America and the world are witnessing Congress deadlocked on funding the federal government and raising the debt ceiling. You have allowed the Tea Party, which wants to defund the Affordable Care Act at all costs, to control you since the beginning of this Congressional battle. The Tea Party has been allowed by you to dictate what goes up for a vote on the House floor. You have allowed the federal government to shut down and the U.S. to once again come dangerously close to defaulting on our debt. You have done this at the cost of the American people. You have done this at the cost of the world economy.
Many of the more established and rational Congressmen and women in the Republican Party, your party, have not hesitated to point out the irrational and inappropriate tactics being used by House republicans led by the Tea Party. Many have pointed out this is not the time or even the proper procedure to address the Affordable Care Act, and it is not acceptable to put the livelihood of Americans and the world at risk. In response, the Tea Party rhetoric has changed, but when push comes to shove, it always comes back to the Affordable Care Act.
You know what you are doing is wrong. You know what you are doing is hurting your constituents and the nation as a whole. You know that many Tea Partiers ran on a platform of shutting down the government. This is their destructive power play. You have not led the House. You have not led your party. You have been a pawn. You have done this out of fear of losing your speakership. You have done this for selfish reasons and in the process, you have empowered the Tea Party.
You have a very brief opportunity, right now, to be brave, to be selfless, and do the right thing. Call a vote on the clean C.R. Call on a clean vote to raise the debt ceiling, not a debt ceiling deal that puts the U.S. and world back in this same scenario in six weeks, but one that extends the debt ceiling for a meaningful amount of time. Call a vote right now. Put hundreds of thousands of federal employees back to work. Keep the businesses that rely on these workers financially viable. Allow the United States of America to pay its bills. Be brave. Lead. Be the Speaker of the House that in the year 2013 brought Republicans and Democrats together for the better good of our nation. It doesn’t matter what party has more votes on this bill. It matters that the Speaker of the House does the right thing. It matters that you act out of bravery and morality. Be the Speaker of the House that puts country before politics. Now is the time. It is your last chance before we hit the debt ceiling. It may not be the easy answer to you, but it is the simple answer, the right answer, the brave answer. Showing courage, you could single handedly change the dynamic in D.C. and in doing so, the legacy of your Speakership. Make this moment count!