John Boehner
Representing Ohio’s 8th & Speaker of the House
I guess it was inevitable. I really didn’t want to write about John Boehner, mainly because I wrote an extensive paper about him in college, but I can no longer ignore the man. An enigmatic politician who wrote the book on political survival, Boehner is the figurehead, the face, the relentless crusader, and the stubborn personification of the revived Republican Party – depending on whom you ask of course. “A person of color, though not a color that appears in the natural world,” Speaker John Boehner is our Member of the Week.
The second of twelve children in a family of German and Irish descent, John Andrew Boehner was born on November 17, 1949 in Reading, Ohio. His upbringing was modest at best; he shared one bathroom with his eleven siblings and his parents slept on a pull out couch in a two-bedroom house in Cincinnati. Before becoming the first person in his family to attend college, Boehner attended Cincinnati’s Moeller High School and was a linebacker on the school’s football team. He graduated in 1968 and enlisted in the United States Navy, but was honorably discharged after eight weeks because of a bad back. He graduated from Xavier University in 1977 with a B.A. in business administration, during which he worked several jobs to pay for his education resulting in an undergraduate degree that took seven years to complete.
After leaving Xavier University, John Boehner moved back to Ohio to work for Nucite Sales Inc., a small sales business in the packaging and plastics industry. Displaying an instant knack for business, he was steadily promoted and eventually became president of the firm. Boehner’s first incursion into politics came at the county level, serving on the board of trustees of Union Township, Butler County, Ohio from 1982 to 1984. In 1984, he was elected to the Ohio House and served as a representative until 1990.
Like many other politicians, John Boehner came to Washington D.C. on the misfortune of another. In 1990, he ran against incumbent congressman Buz Lukens, who had been convicted for having sex with a 16-year-old girl. Trouncing Lukens in the primary, taking 49% of the vote, Boehner went on to easily win the heavily Republican 8th District. He has been elected ten times with no substantial opposition.
His impact in the House was instant. During his freshman year, John Boehner joined the “Gang of Seven” Republican freshmen who charged entrenched Democratic lawmakers for their perks, exposing the names of 355 members with overdrafts at the House Bank. The group went on to attack congressional pay raises and uncovered “dine-and-dash” practices at the House restaurant and illegal cash-for-stamps deals at the House Post Office. His actions as a freshman endeared him to Republican leaders. Boehner became then-House Majority Leader Newt Gingrich’s top advisor, helping him fundraise and draft the Contract with America in 1994. After the Contract helped catapult Republicans into the majority in Congress for the first time in four decade, Gingrich pushed Boehner to the chairmanship of the House Republican Conference.
He continued diligently in this role, keeping rank-and-file members on message. In 1998, he sued House ethics ranking member Jim McDermott for leaking his taped cell-phone talk with other GOP leaders about how to handle the Gingrich ethics probe to the New York Times. The long legal battle ended with Boehner being award $1.2 million in damages. In this post, he was the fourth-ranking House Republican. He used his substantial power and influence to advocate the Freedom to Farm Act that, among other provisions, revised and simplified direct payment programs for crops and eliminated milk price supports through direct government purchases. John Boehner was ousted from his leadership role in 1998, an internal GOP coup to oust Gingrich followed after Republicans lost five House seats.
Following the election of President George W. Bush, John Boehner was elected as chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Unfazed by his ouster from the House Republican Conference, Boehner threw himself into his work. From 2001 until 2006, he authored several reforms including the Pension Protection Act and a successful school choice voucher program for low-income children in Washington, D.C. Moreover, he worked with ideological opposites like Rep. George Miller to pass the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, saying it was his “proudest achievement” in two decades of public service.
John Boehner’s ascension to the upper-echelon of Republican House leadership began in 2006. Then-Majority Leader Tom DeLay was forced to step down and House Majority Whip Rep. Roy Blunt positioned himself as Delay’s successor. Boehner threw his hat into the ring, presenting a detailing governing manifesto that he had worked on for more than a year. He campaigned as a reform candidate who wanted to reform the “earmark” process and rein in government spending. After Democrats reclaimed control of the House in November 2006, Boehner surprised everyone by receiving 122 votes compared to Blunt’s 109 on the second ballot. Once the Republican reclaimed Congress in January 2011, Boehner was unanimously chosen by House Republicans as their Speaker of the House. He is the first Speaker from Ohio since fellow Republicans Nicholas Longworth and J. Warren Keifer. He is also the first Speaker who has served as majority and minority floor leader for his party since Texas Democrat Sam Rayburn.
A conservative voter, who has supported his party nearly 96% of the time, Boehner has opposed efforts to curtail earmarks and to outright ban privately-funded travel for lawmakers. His relationship with lobbyists is well known. In one infamous moment, he distributed checks from tobacco lobbyists to other GOP lawmakers on the House floor. And yet, despite his stringent allegiance to the Republican Party line, John Boehner has been praised for his ability to work with those across the aisle. He had an enduring relationship with the late Senator Edward Kennedy; the two sponsored an annual dinner to raise money for D.C.’s struggling Catholic schools.
His impact and influence is obvious. As the days slowly wind down to the 2012 election, John Boehner, and the actions he takes, will further be evaluated under increased scrutiny. Whether or not the tea-party revolution sinks the Republican Party is still up in the air. Either way, John Boehner will be at the helm.
–Amendment202
Great article! Hard material to work with but you did a great job.