On a conference call with House Republicans a day after the party’s electoral battering last week, Speaker John A. Boehner dished out some bitter medicine, and for the first time in the 112th Congress, most members took their dose.
Their party lost, badly, Mr. Boehner said, and while Republicans would still control the House and would continue to staunchly oppose tax rate increases as Congress grapples with the impending fiscal battle, they had to avoid the nasty showdowns that marked so much of the last two years.
Members on the call, subdued and dark, murmured words of support — even a few who had been a thorn in the speaker’s side for much of this Congress.
It was a striking contrast to a similar call last year, when Mr. Boehner tried to persuade members to compromise with Democrats on a deal to extend a temporary cut in payroll taxes, only to have them loudly revolt.
Yes, Republicans held the House. But the reality is that their strategy of obstructionism and blame-shifting didn’t work.
In fact, continuing that strategy would be pointless, since Barack Obama is serving his final term. The goal was to make Obama a one-term president and the game was lost.
Time to grow up and stop using temper tantrums as a tactic. Time to stop putting the party before the nation. Time to get back to the business of governing.
