The second most powerful man in America would be a good answer. As Speaker of the House of Representatives he has enormous clout. Anyone who has paid the slightest attention to national politics recognizes his name, even if they are unsure of his lofty position. By the Constitution he is second in line to become President. That has never happened but during the interregnum when we had no Vice President after Nixon’s resignation, the Speaker of the House, Carl Albert, said he prayed every night for the health of President Ford.
What do we really know about Speaker Boehner? The facts are easily found. He was born In Reading, Ohio November 17, 1949 of parents of German descent, the second of eleven children. Unlike many of our famous politicians who were born into a life of privilege (think of the Kennedys and the Bushes), Boehner came from what is charitably called “modest means.” The family of thirteen lived in a two-bedroom house, the eleven children sharing one bathroom and the parents sleeping on a pull-out couch. His father worked in the family bar founded by Boehner’s grandfather in 1938. The future Speaker of the House went to work there at age 8. He attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, a nationally known football powerhouse, where he played linebacker under the legendary coach Jerry Faust. When he graduated in 1968, he enlisted in the Navy but was honorably discharged eight weeks later because of a bad back.
He attended Xavier University and received a B.A. in Business Administration in 1977. It took him seven years to complete his studies because he worked at several jobs to finance his education. He was the first member of his family to attend college. Shortly after graduation he took a job with a small plastics and packaging company. Nucite Sales, where he steadily advanced and became president of the business, a position he held until he was elected to Congress in 1990.
From that brief history we can all take off our hats to a man who has lived the American Dream. All but two of his surviving family lives within two miles of where they grew up as youngsters. Boehner is married and has two daughters. He had local and state political experience before unseating the incumbent congressman, Buz Lukens, who was under fire for a sexual liaison with a minor.
He attracted attention in the House of Representatives and served on important committees including the leading the House Republican Conference, Republican whip, and minority leader before being elected Speaker of the House in 2010, a position he has held until the present. When speaking of personal matters such as his success, Boehner becomes quite emotional, as one might well understand.
His contributions prior to his Speakership are notable and now he has had to deal with a fractious Republican Party, particularly in relation to the Tea Party faction. His relations with the democratic side of the House have been difficult as they have with the President. Boehner, rightly or not, has been identified as hyper partisan, a characterization he denied on a Sixty Minutes interview this past Sunday.
Most recently he has proffered an invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress on Israeli concerns about Iran. On two scores, one wonders if he has not overstepped his bounds. Such occasions are normally left to the prerogative of the President and, given the delicate state of the diplomatic talks with Iran concerning nuclear issues, the Palestinians may view this as a slap in the face. Perhaps Speaker Boehner plans to invite Mahmoud Abbas to speak.
Boehner said he didn’t intend the invitation to be a “poke in the President’s eye,” but it seems more like a power play of politics than a good idea.
The Speaker has much of which he can be justly proud. If he could add a measure of conciliation for those with whom he disagrees and an occasional smile perhaps he would elevate the House of Representatives to a measure of respect that they currently are lacking. Now that would be a real accomplishment!
– Hayden Hollingsworth
