John Boehner’s tenure as speaker of the
House, which will end with his resignation
next month, is striking because of a seeming contradiction. By
statistical measures, it featured an extraordinary degree of party unity among
Republicans in the House. At almost no point in history have such a large
majority of Republicans voted together so often, especially when they stood in
opposition to Democrats.
And yet, Boehner was brought
down by division within the Republican ranks: His decision to resign was
motivated by a group of dissident,
highly conservative Republicans, the Freedom Caucus, who had threatened a
no-confidence vote in
his speakership. Meanwhile, Republicans have had trouble reaching consensus in
many other respects during Boehner’s years as speaker: most notably, in
choosing a candidate in the current presidential
race.
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