Kathleen Parker December 13, 2013

By Kathleen Parker
December 13, 2013

 

’Tis the season, and Nancy Pelosi has given the hands-down best gift to the American people — her phrase “Embrace the suck.”

Miraculous.

Offered to fellow Democrats as a push to pass the bipartisan budget bill, the phrase has all the characteristics necessary to ensure a permanentplace in the popular lexicon. It’s succinct, raunchy-esque and, mostimportant, you know exactly what it means. “It sucks, but it’s the bestwe’ll get.”

In no time, Embrace The Suck (ETS) had its own hashtag and was launched into the Twitterverse. Suckitude is aloft at a time when nothing floats.

Punctuating her epitaph-ready mandate, Pelosi added a characteristic subtitle: “Weneed to get this off the table so we can go forward,” which soundssimilar to her previous comment on the Affordable Care Act (ACA): “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

We now know she wasn’t kidding. The ACA rollout continues to revealhitches, glitches and pitches that have Geppetto’s Pinocchio nosefactory working overtime.

And Republicans are on fire. The real story isn’t that a bipartisan budget bill has been hammered out but that House Speaker John Boehner has ignited.

He and others of like mind obviously have decided to sacrifice party unity in the interest of national well-being. What a concept. Over a coupleof days during the budget negotiations, Boehner turned both barrels oninsurrectionists — both inside and outside Congress — especially the big conservative action groups that have undermined any efforts atcompromise and bipartisanship.

Depending on how things shake outin the remaining days of the jolly season, we could be witnessing thefirst shots of an old-guard revolution from which emerges the leaderRepublicans have been waiting for.

Center stage: Paul Ryan.

As all know, the budget deal was crafted by Ryan and Democrat PattyMurray. It’s a not-grand bargain — i.e., “it sucks” — but it’ssomething, and it staves off another budget crisis through fiscal year2015.

Boehner’s rather sudden, unexpected attack on conservativegroups such as Heritage Action, FreedomWorks and Americans forProsperity was to many minds overdue. He condemned the groups forforcing tea party Republicans into corners and encouraging them to fight battles they couldn’t possibly win. Boehner has always thought this,insiders tell me, but had never expressed it publicly. His statementsthis past week were bold and consequential.

Conservative advocacy groups are “using our members, and they’re using the American people for their own goals,” he said. “This is ridiculous.”

Deliciously refreshing, if I do say. His remarks also leave teaparty members of Congress a little wiggle room by implying that, thoughthey acted in good faith, they were being manipulated by powerfulforces.

This is the part where Angry Tough Guy creates contrast for Cool Pocket-Protector Jock — the budget-savvy, fully seasoned, conservative-but-sane presidentialcandidate with crossover appeal. No longer is Ryan the kid standing next to the grown-up, he has matured into a full-throated advocate forbipartisan problem-solving with a tough stance on fiscal restraint, whois also humorous, humble and respectful toward his political opponents.He even speaks with greater authority than when he was Mitt Romney’ssidekick.

At first glance, one wonders whether Republicans arespiking their coffee with testosterone. What’s clear is that the era ofBoehner’s bottom-up approach to leadership has ended. Not again will heallow the obstructionist wing of the party to force showdowns andshutdowns that hurt the American people and the Republican Party. Evenif he has to draft Democrats to help him, Boehner enjoys the furtherbenefit of speaking the truth.

Meanwhile, concurrent withBoehner’s one-man firing squad, a significant sub-story was unfolding.Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), leader of the Republican Study Committee,orchestrated the departure of his chief of staff, Paul Teller, who is beloved by these same conservative groups. Teller was thought to be leaking information on budget and other negotiations to theseorganizations, according to inside sources.

Boehner hinted atthis when he responded to a question about conservative opposition: “You mean the groups that came out and opposed [the budget deal] before they ever saw it?”

Gee, how did they know?!

What everyone willknow soon enough is that Paul Ryan is The Guy — the missing leader theGOP has been searching for and who is clearly being groomed for 2016.Until then, if Boehner continues playing hardball and prevails,Democrats really may have to follow Pelosi’s imperative come 2014 — andthereafter.

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