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Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 5:22 AM UTC

Boehner ally: Speaker’s style not “effective way to do business”

Ouch! A fellow Republican tells the Washington Post the speaker's not willing to break arms and get things done

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Topics: John Boehner, Fiscal cliff, Debt ceiling,

Boehner ally: Speaker's style not (Credit: AP)

One of John Boehner’s allies has some strange words of support for the beleaguered House Speaker in a Sunday profile in the Washington Post.

As the action on the fiscal cliff debate shifts to the Senate, the Post assesses where Boehner stands with his caucus. Boehner will need GOP support to bring any Senate compromise bill to a vote in the House, and could not find the numbers within his own party for his “Plan B” compromise.

A fellow Ohio Republican, Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, told the paper, essentially, that Boehner’s failure to lead with a decisive hand is what House Republicans admire about him.

“Boehner’s greatest strength is also his greatest weakness,” said LaTourette, who then contrasted Boehner with Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

“She got out there and broke arms and got it done. Boehner has not been willing to do that. I give him high marks for that,” LaTourette told the Post. “But it’s not a very effective way to do business.”

And anyone who thinks the House will line up behind a compromise forged in the Senate by Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell might think again.

“I think most people like myself are looking for far more than what’s probably going to be able to be delivered,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Michigan Republican. told the paper. “We’re going to have to evaluate it. . . . There’ll probably be some room for improvement from the House perspective.”

 

 

 

David Daley is the executive editor of Salon. More David Daley.

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