Greetings from the "Fightin Eighth". I'm writing from the most conservative part of Speaker Boehner's district in Southwest Ohio. This area is like a tea party petri dish, both in ideology and in evolutionary status. I hear thoughtful liberal talk around here the way Herman Cain hears cheers at a mosque.
Boehner made the point the other day that tax increases are out of the question. He read from the tea party hymn book all the way. Interesting why he does this. In the upcoming campaign he will face a primary "challenge" from the tea party, just as he did the last election. Look, Boehner has held his seat for 20 years. It was bequeathed to him by the last guy who retired to spend more time as a convicted sex offender. Yet the GOP still held the seat. Boehner then spent these 20 years trading off doing things for Ohio in exchange for political capital in Washington. His constituents weren't surprised to hear him say he's against earmarks, we know he had no intention of doing anything for us in the first place.
He is far more of a paper tiger than anyone in the Speaker's office should be. After his primary "challenge" the DNC should greet him with a concerted, robust ground campaign and the results could surprise the country.
Finally, a point about jobs and uncertainty. The uncertainty our poor CEOs are bothered by is so largely of their own creation. By uncertainty it is meant, they are not certain how much of the Frank-Dodd regulations they can successfully defeat in committee and court. The president proposed a sensible, realistic jobs plan that is sound but won't set job creation on fire. Nonetheless, the Speaker should put down his drink and pass the president's plan. The Congress being caught in the act of being functional and agreeing on anything substantial would do more to put confidence and certainty into the economy than anything we've seen in years.