Boehner’s Crocodile Tears for Amnesty

By: Erick Erickson (Diary) | December 13th, 2013

It is an odd fight. Such a weird little battle over meaningless and known outcomes. Conservatives, aware from press reports and congressional leaks, knew what would be in the Paul Ryan drafted budget plan. The conservative groups released statements in opposition to the plan based on what they had been told. But there was never any doubt about the Ryan plan passing.

After the plan was publicly unveiled by the Republicans at six o’clock on a Tuesday night, conservative fears were realized. Those things they knew would be in the plan were, in fact, in the plan. The plan funded Obamacare. The plan raised taxes. The plan broke the sequestration spending limits that only a month before Republican leaders had said would never be broken.

Speaker Boehner then did something curious. He held two press conferences wherein he lashed out at conservative groups. He denounced them for making up their minds before the plan was publicly unveiled. Never mind that everyone knew what would be in the plan. Never mind that he only gave the public thirty-six hours to explore the text of the plan, a violation of a campaign promise to give at least seventy-two hours of examination. Speaker Boehner’s statement sounded like former Speaker Pelosi claiming we had to pass the Ryan plan to find out what was in the Ryan plan.

Superficially, it is a very odd fight. But Speaker Boehner’s crocodile tears in his attacks and cries against the conservative movement are really about the next fight. Speaker Boehner intends to pursue immigration reform, with an amnesty component. Before he gets there, he needs to shape battle lines.  . . . ‘please click here for the rest of the post ’