Boehner resignation boosts Mark Meadows

by Mark Barrett, Asheville Citizen-Times, September 25, 2015.

House Speaker John Boehner's resignation Friday will increase the stature of 11th District U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows in Washington and North Carolina, two political scientists said, even though both said it is hard to say how large a role Meadows had in Boehner's departure.

"Clearly Meadows is going to look like the face of this movement to dethrone Boehner," said Chris Cooper, a professor at Western Carolina University. "I don't mean he is the one. I don't think he is."

"He was responsible or at least partially responsible for it. That might provide him some credibility," said Andrew Taylor, a political scientist at N.C. State University.

Meadows, a Jackson County Republican in his second term, was among conservatives who voted against Boehner for speaker in January. He then filed a motion seeking to remove him from the House's top job July 28.

It does not appear that Meadows' motion by itself forced Boehner from office, but it did underline the dissatisfaction the most conservative House members and their Tea Party and other allies felt with what they considered Boehner's inability or unwillingness to pursue a more conservative agenda.

The motion appeared to catch some of Meadows' allies in the House by surprise when he filed it. Meadows said at the time that Boehner had exerted too much pressure on House members to stay in line with the leadership's views and had not given conservative House members like himself enough of a say.

On Friday, Meadows said in a statement that Boehner "has served honorably during a difficult time for Republicans when the threat of a veto from the White House constantly impedes our legislative agenda. At times I differed with Speaker Boehner on policy or procedural positions, but I commend him for his honorable service, his humility, his undeniable love for his country and his desire to serve this great nation."

Meadows has said he is not a candidate for speaker and that his motion was not directed toward pushing the candidacy of any particular House member for the job.

"I look forward to an open and inclusive discussion as the House pursues new leadership," he said in his statement Friday. "There are critically important issues the House must address in the coming months. It is of the utmost importance that our new leadership reflect the diverse makeup of the House Republican Conference and, ultimately, that the voices of the American people are heard through their elected representatives."

Meadows was the subject of flattering coverage in conservative media outlets after he filed his resolution, but was not prominently featured in several mainstream media accounts of Boehner's resignation Friday.

Virtually all accounts say dissatisfaction among the most conservative Republicans in the House and across the nation was a main driver behind Boehner's decision. Meadows' action increased the chances that Boehner would be a topic of conversation when congressmen met with constituents during the break that began shortly after Meadows filed his motion.

Taylor said relationships among House Republicans are a "black box. ... It's just prohibitively difficult for someone from this distance to know exactly what's going on in the Republican caucus."

Still, he said, Meadows "was one of the first voices (against Boehner.) That's got to be worth something."

Cooper said he can envision Meadows having a more prominent role in the House as a result of the episode or possibly running for Senate one day. He said as only a second-term member, it is too soon for Meadows to move into House leadership.

He recalled commentary in late July that Meadows' motion was "tilting at windmills."

Now, Meadows "can show it was a serious cause ... which some folks really doubted. I think he sensed a groundswell that was going to be successful," Cooper said.

He said Meadows' actions will help his position in his district, which takes in most of Western North Carolina except for Asheville and the southeastern quadrant of Buncombe County.

"Everybody wants a powerful member of Congress and this is a sign that Meadows has some sway in Washington," he said.

Consequences for Republicans nationally may be different, he said. Most won't pay close attention, he said, but some voters may be concerned about the impact of the party's more conservative members and turned off by the conflict within the GOP.

"It demonstrates that one pitfall of being firmly in the majority is it can lead to more intra-party fighting," Cooper said. "It's a better day for Democrats than it is Republicans."

Boehner's announcement will also affect 10th District U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Lincoln County Republican who represents Asheville and the portion of Buncombe County not in Meadows' district, along with several counties in the foothills and western Piedmont of the state.

As chief deputy whip, McHenry could be in a position to move up in the leadership ranks as Boehner's departure sets off a reshuffling of those in the House's top jobs. However, McHenry has been closely identified with Boehner and that could hurt his standing with more conservative members, Cooper said.

The most likely scenario is that McHenry simply keeps his current chief deputy whip job, Cooper said.

McHenry's statement Friday referred to Boehner by his first name, saying he has "served the people's House with great honor and distinction for over two decades, including the last five years in the often thankless role as speaker.

"During this time he has shown tremendous leadership holding the line against the Obama administration's destructive policies while also achieving meaningful, conservative reforms to our spending and entitlement programs. John has been a tremendous servant to this institution, Ohio's 8th District, and the American people and he will be sorely missed," McHenry said.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/2015/09/25/boehner-resignation-boosts-mark-meadows/72816222/