The New Speaker

As you may know, John Boehner was sworn in as Speaker of the House today.  Boehner has come under criticism in recent weeks for two reasons;  skepticism from conservatives who have been burnt before by Republicans when we've given them power, and his occasional display of emotion in the form of tears.  I'm giving Boehner the benefit of a doubt on both accounts until proven otherwise.

Boehner's voting record over his years in Congress is solidly conservative on all the issues, and he does have a record of fighting corruption.  He also has the backing of scores of new conservatives in Congress that I believe will hold him accountable if he is to happen stray too far down the road of compromise.  He's even placed some of these freshman in key leadership positions, which is unprecedented.  I think he gets it and will do just fine, but I will certainly be keeping an eye him.  Trust but verify.

Another reason I'm not skeptical of Boehner is his background.  He was one of 11 children that grew up in a small house in Cincinnati.  In 1968, he enlisted in the Navy (during Vietnam) but was discharged because of his back.  He worked his way through Xavier University for seven years to get his business degree, and then worked his way up in a small business to become President of the company before running for public office.  His experience involves growing up relatively poor, a lot of hard work to get through college, more hard work to be successful in business, and public service.  He's lived the American dream, and I believe that will serve him well as Speaker of the House.  I also suspect his experience is the reason for his emotional acceptance of the Speakership.  America can do that to a man.