House Speaker John Boehner shocked Capitol Hill and big media alike when he announced that he will relinquish his gavel at the end of October. Now, as members of Congress scramble to see who will take over as one of the most influential voices in the country, media strategist Shawna Vercher says “the GOP is in danger of exposing all of its dysfunction.”
The trend of having elected officials, and presidential candidates, say outrageous things may rally a particular base or increase fundraising, but it may turn much of the country off and make Congress even less popular. In a shocking development, Boehner himself called some of his fellow Conservatives “false prophets,” for making promises to the electorate they know they can never deliver, such as overturning Obamacare
Given their track record thus far, it seems a fool’s errand to ask that they exercise caution before making too many pie in the sky partisan promises as they clamor to fill Boehner’s shoes.
“Both sides – Republicans and Democrats – have their cast of crazy characters,” says Vercher. “However, the Republicans are now jockeying for position and people that used to play bit parts in the process – people that the party essentially kept hidden from the national spotlight – are stepping forward and this leaves the party vulnerable.”
Yet we could argue that some of the major players are not yet ready for prime time based on the mistakes they are continuing to make. Senator and prominent GOP figure Marco Rubio comes to mind with his recent outrageous false statements about women being encouraged to get abortions at Planned Parenthood for profit.
Watch this episode of Dare We Say and join the conversation about the future leadership of the Republican Party.
