PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Gallery
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

Why Boehner’s to Blame

  • October 1, 2013
  • Will Marshall

The government of the United States of America is closed for business today, courtesy of the Republican Party. It’s a national embarrassment, like a scene from the Marx Brothers’ classic 1933 satire “Duck Soup,” only without the anarchic humor.

Hail Freedonia!

Who produced today’s farce? Was it the Tea Party hotheads, 50 or so House Republicans who love ideological combat but hate governing? Or was it Sen. Ted Cruz, perhaps the most cunning demagogue America has produced since Joe McCarthy?

All played their discreditable parts. But the man in the director’s chair is John Boehner, who is bidding for the title of worst House speaker in U.S. history.

Why Boehner? Because he knows better, and could have prevented the shut-down. And because, as America’s third-ranking constitutional officer, after the President and vice president, he is supposed to serve America’s interests — not the febrile demands of his party’s most rabid partisans. That’s Eric Cantor’s job.
.
Read the entire piece at the New York Daily News.

Related Work

Publication  |  September 16, 2026

Investment Heroes 2026: Getting Big Things Done

  • Michael Mandel Andrew Fung
In the News  |  September 16, 2026

AI Buildout Propels Tech Firms to Top of US Investment Ranking: Study

  • Michael Mandel
Publication  |  September 16, 2026

Build Back Belief: France Update

  • Deborah Mattinson Claire Ainsley Chris Clarke
Publication  |  September 14, 2026

Change Britain Build Back Belief: UK Update

  • Deborah Mattinson Claire Ainsley
Op-Ed  |  August 27, 2026

Ritz for Forbes: Trump Administration Struggles To Finance Unsustainable Fiscal Policy

  • Ben Ritz
Op-Ed  |  August 14, 2026

Marshall for The Hill: Don’t Let Socialists Sabotage a Democratic Comeback

  • Will Marshall
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2026 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings