If hardline conservatives move to dethrone Boehner in the coming weeks – as many expect — House Democrats will be in the enviable position of deciding whether he stays or goes. If they side with the Ohio Republican or refuse to play ball, the coup will fail. If Democrats side with the Republican rebels, Boehner will be forced out, plunging the House into chaos.
In the meantime, Democrats are more than happy to sit back and watch the ongoing public Republican infighting.
“Whatever lets them stew in their own juices and whatever lets the temperature of those juices rise is what I think we should do,” said one Democratic lawmaker.
While top GOP leaders insist they are still backing Boehner’s leadership – and allies maintain that he can weather the challenge — other Republicans have already started canvassing their colleagues for support in anticipation of a move against the speaker. That’s got some Democrats weighing a list of demands, such as a renewal of the Export-Import bank or the easing of budget caps, they’d want met in return for saving Boehner, even as some would prefer to stay out of the fight entirely.
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