John Boehner Admits Democrats “Win” In Government Shutdown

House Speaker John Boehner is warning his troops that if the government shuts down at the end of the week it will be a political catastrophe for Republicans.

“The Democrats think they benefit from a government shutdown. I agree,” Boehner said during a closed-door, 90-minute meeting on House Republicans on Monday night, according to several lawmakers who attended the session.

Boehner’s opinion was quickly backed up GOP lawmakers who were serving in Congress during 1995, when former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) squared off with then-President Bill Clinton by shutting down the government twice. Reps. Don Young (Alaska), Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.) and Buck McKeon (Calif.) — a close ally — supported Boehner’s position. Dozens of other Republicans rallied to support Boehner as well, in a moment that one GOP insider called a “turning point” for House Republicans.

“My view is that a government shutdown doesn’t benefit anyone necessarily, but if one party or the other is going to get an edge, it’s probably the Democrats. I agree with the speaker there,” Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) told POLITICO. “If you look at the government shutdown of 1995, it guaranteed President Clinton’s reelection. And that’s what this would do. If you want to cede the presidential race in 2012, you shut down the government.”

Boehner has had to appease his right tea party flank and his biggest problem is with them, not with Democrats, as they could threaten both his leadership and his House seat.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.