Thread: John Boehner says again that he’s running for re-election

Prinmary this!.
John Boehner says again that he’s running for re-election


He urged friends and allies to ignore rumors about his impending retirement. | AP Photo
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By ANNA PALMER and JAKE SHERMAN |
7/19/13

Speaker John Boehner is running for re-election.

That is what he told a small group of close confidants Thursday night at Trattoria Alberto, his favorite Capitol Hill Italian restaurant, according to multiple sources familiar with the meeting.

He urged the group - which included some of his closest K Street allies – to ignore rumors about his impending retirement. They are wrong, he told the group. He wants to remain in Washington for another two years.

(PHOTOS: John Boehner's life and career)

The rumors are real, and they’re bouncing from Capitol Hill to K Street. When Boehner might retire has become a favorite parlor game on Capitol Hill. It’s been a brutal fear years for Boehner and the House GOP conference.

That the speaker is reminding his allies — and, to a lesser extend, the public — that he’s running for re-election shows that he hears the rumors and feels compelled to swat them down.

The tight group he dined with Thursday night included included Republican Joyce Gates, Nick Calio of Airlines for America, Michael Boland of Dome Advisors and AT&T’s Tim McKone.

There’s no shortage of people who could take Boehner’s job. He has an anxious lieutenant in the wings in Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). There’s also rampant speculation about whether Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has expanded his policy portfolio this year, would want the speaker’s gavel.

Of course, Boehner’s mind could change at some point, but now, he’s showing all the signs of a man going nowhere. His political operation says he has raised $30 million for Republicans this year. But he faces tests on multiple fronts over the next few months. He is going to have to figure out how to squeeze immigration reform through the House, then there’s government funding and the debt ceiling.

Boehner has seen some high-profile defections from his office. Most recently, his policy director Brett Loper announced he would decamp for the top Washington job at American Express.

Even if he runs for re-election, he still has to pass another test to remain speaker: he has to survive a vote of House Republicans.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/0...ion-94476.html

And hopefully we will have a strong GOP Primary challenger to take on this RINO. I can't believe that Boehner's campaign asked me to fly up to Ohio to speak at one of his events a few years back. I am so happy I did not accept that invitation.

W