Well Played, John Boehner: GOP Beats a Wise Retreat

Doyle McManus: House Republicans' move was 'unexpectedly impressive'
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2013 11:37 AM CST
Well Played, John Boehner: GOP Beats a Wise Retreat
House Speaker John Boehner, flanked by Paul Ryan and Dave Camp, addresses reporters on Jan. 23.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democrats might be gloating about the decision by John Boehner and House Republicans to back off from the debt-ceiling fight, but Doyle McManus thinks they should be a little worried, too. Boehner, after all, engineered an "unexpectedly impressive" retreat: His lieutenants fell in line and the Tea Party contingent zipped its lips. All of which suggests that Republicans in Congress are finally starting to wise up and choose their battles more carefully, writes McManus in the Los Angeles Times.

"Astonishingly, for perhaps the first time since they won the majority in 2010, Boehner's House Republicans were seized by a sudden fit of pragmatism," writes McManus. The speaker recognized that the public wasn't behind the GOP in this showdown and that he would expend serious political capital in a hopeless battle. Democrats have a lot in their favor right now, "but they're already facing a smarter Republican Party than the one they defeated in November—a GOP smart enough to stage a tactical retreat and avoid a losing fight." Read the full column here. Or read about Boehner's recent comments on "smart fights" here. (More John Boehner stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X