Jeff Smith: John Boehner’s Dilemma

If I were John Boehner,I’d hire a food taster.

Sadly, with Boehner impotent in the face of the tea party-dominated caucus, there are now two camps of leading Washington Republicans. One camp – the cold-eyed power-seekers represented by Cantor in the House and McConnell in the Senate – wants the country to default because it will destabilize the markets, hurt the economy, and thus hurt Obama’s chances of re-election. That’s sad.

The other camp – the Norquist-led “starve the beast” types – wants the country to default because it will prevent the country from borrowing for any purpose, and begin accomplishing their overarching goal of totally discrediting government. That’s nuts.

Where is today’s Bob Dole, the heartland conservative respected by both sides and willing to stand up to his party’s right wing in the name of statesmanship? His name is Rob Portman, and he’s AWOL.