INSIDER INTERVIEW

Re-Energized House Republicans Prepare For November

John Boehner Says He Takes Elections 'One At A Time And One District At A Time'

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008


As Hurricane Gustav bore down on the Louisiana coast, and John McCain campaign and Republican National Committee officials were revising the convention schedule, National Journal sat down with House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, to discuss the presidential and downballot races. The following is an edited transcript.

NJ: As convention chairman, how much of an adjustment did you have to make because of Hurricane Gustav?

Boehner: This natural disaster is of great concern to all of us, and I think our priority has to be on the safety and security of those that are in harm's way. So making the decision [Sunday] to only do what was necessary to kick the convention off, I think, was a good decision. John McCain has always put his country first, and I don't there's a better example we could have than what we decided to do [in changing the original schedule].

NJ: In terms of those decisions, what role did you as convention chairman play in the process? Were the decisions all made by the McCain people? Did they consult with you? In what way did you advise and take part in the discussion?

Boehner: I was part of a meeting around noon [Sunday]. Most all of these decisions came from the McCain campaign in coordination with the RNC. But we had a meeting. I got to have my two cents' worth.

NJ: To what extent has the change in logistics here affected your message here at the convention? Are you winging it, or will you be able to do most of what you came here to do?

Boehner: I think we'll be able to accomplish what we need to accomplish given the time we have left.

NJ: Specifically that is what?

Boehner: My role here is beyond chairman of the convention. My job is to be the leader of House Republicans. And, you know, our protests on the House floor will continue this week. We're going to demand that Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi call us back and give us a vote on our all-of-the-above energy plan. And, frankly, I'd be willing to go back this moment.

NJ: Are you serious about going back this moment?

Boehner: I'd go back this week if she'd call us back and give us a chance to have a vote on our plan.

NJ: Are we going to see this idea, this message, continued on from the House on this convention floor?

Boehner: Clearly this issue of energy is going to be discussed on the floor of this convention. It is the biggest issue on the minds of most Americans. They want their elected officials to do something in the direction of energy independence. And we think we have a plan that does all of the above and takes a big step towards energy independence. And so it will be discussed. ... Our effort on energy when we get back to Washington will be non-stop.

NJ: The Speaker said that she will offer a proposal when the House returns.

Boehner: I'm anxious to see what it is. But regardless of what she wants to bring, I think what we're demanding is a vote on our bill. All we want is a chance to vote.

NJ: Do you have any reason to believe you'll get it?

Boehner: I don't know. ... The American people want us to do something about energy. We've got a plan. We've got it out there. All we're asking for is a vote. We're not asking her to pass it. Give us a fair shot at a vote. I feel pretty good about my chances ... if we get a vote.

NJ: What are you trying to do as chairman of the convention?

Boehner: At the end of the day, my job is to help my team. And whether I'm the chairman of the convention or whether I'm doing my share for John McCain and Sarah Palin, at the end of the day my big focus is on doing everything I can to help out.

NJ: All indications are there will be a loss of House seats to some degree. Maybe not horrific as once thought, but certainly it's going to be a good number of seats.

Boehner: They've been writing our political obituary for 18 months. And all I can really tell you is that we're going to do better than people think.

NJ: What does that mean?

Boehner: I haven't seen our team this fired up in several years.

NJ: Can you offer any suggestions about what kind of pickup the Democrats might get?

Boehner: It's not knowable.

NJ: It's not knowable?

Boehner: It isn't. We're 60 days away from the election. All these campaigns are in various states of development, various states of play. And, frankly, the presidential race is in a place that most of us wouldn't have expected several months ago.

NJ: How do you mean that?

Boehner: For McCain to be basically in a dead heat with Obama at this point is a surprise to everyone. You just go back historically. The Republican has never been ahead in the summer, even when we win. So for the McCain campaign to be in as competitive position as it is gives you some idea about the state of flux that this election cycle is in. I mean, nobody could have told you six months ago or three months ago that come Labor Day that this picture would look anything like this.

NJ: How does this help your campaigns?

Boehner: McCain and his choice of Sarah Palin further energized our campaigns and further energized our people. Her addition to the ticket will be very helpful in some races, especially in the Midwest. You are talking about hard-working middle-class families that will be able to identify with her very well.

NJ: Have you met her before?

Boehner: I met her in July when we took a delegation to Alaska for the "Great American Energy Tour." We had dinner with her in Fairbanks. We spent three hours with her. ... She is an accomplished woman. She's not bashful at all. What I really liked about her at dinner is that she talks like an ordinary person, not like a politician. This will be very helpful in the next couple of months to have a real reformer, to take on the party bosses and the old bulls with which ordinary people can identify.

NJ: Most people would expect a vice presidential resume to be more robust.

Boehner: This elitist view that you are not ready to be president or vice president if you are not a Washington insider drives me right out of my mind. Being governor means that you are the chief executive, and you have to make decisions. She has far more executive experience than Obama and [Joseph] Biden combined. Members of Congress get to vote yes or vote no, and to voice their opinions. Their own individual decisions have no significance, because it's what the body decides.

Most Americans are not going to buy this idea that because she's not a Washington insider, she is irrelevant. Let's look at what she has done as governor. She passed a huge ethics reform bill. She took on the party bosses and the old bulls. She has been a forceful advocate for more American-made energy. Let's have the American people decide whether she has enough experience.

NJ: Does her selection reinforce McCain's age in voters' minds?

Boehner: I don't think that McCain's age is an issue here. I think that the American people want someone who is ready to lead. Clearly John McCain's record shows that he is ready and able to lead. He is a reformer second to none. The American people understand that Washington is broken. McCain and Palin clearly have the credentials that they can fix a broken Washington.

What's really refreshing about my job is that I get to spend time outside Washington and to talk with people outside the Beltway, and what their concerns are. Age is an inside the Beltway issue. People are yearning for somebody who can fix this mess. Putting Palin on the ticket helps to reinforce the John McCain that we know.

NJ: How can a Republican fix a broken Washington when Republicans have been in charge for so long?

Boehner: We lost our majority in 2006. I made it clear that I felt that we deserved to lose. We lost our way and focused on getting earmarks as opposed to acting like Republicans. John McCain made that same point pretty well. The American people are saying the same thing. Democrats have made a lot of promises, and they kept none. The American people are not impressed.

NJ: Would Republicans be better off losing this presidential election and in position to score big political gains in 2010?

Boehner: I never bought into that nonsense. I take elections one at a time and one district at a time. I understand the historical context, and I was there in Bill Clinton's first two years for them. It was pretty disastrous for them, and put a gale force behind our efforts in 1994.

NJ: What is your advice for McCain on how to win Ohio?

Boehner: McCain is going to win in Ohio. Ohioans and the rest of the country are going to have a day-and-night choice. Senator Obama is the most liberal member of the United States Senate, and Senator Biden is the third most liberal member. People in Ohio don't want to pay higher taxes or support bigger government. They want to feel that America is strong and safe. They will see our team as much better qualified to do that. Having been involved in the Bush campaign in 2000 and 2004, I knew what we had to do, and we did it.

To win Ohio, Obama would really have to eat into McCain's numbers in western Ohio. I just don't think that's going to happen. The other area is in southeast Ohio, and you have the same situation there. I don't see those Ohioans moving to Obama and Biden.

John McCain is not your average Republican. They see him as a different kind of politician. Given the mood out there in the country, I think it helps him a lot. Sarah Palin also is a different kind of Republican. You have to remember that Hillary Clinton did well in Ohio with working-class voters. I think that McCain will do well with them also.

NJ: Congressional Democrats in Ohio say that working people oppose NAFTA and McCain is not on with that message.

Boehner: NAFTA was an issue in this campaign for about five days. Ohio's probably one of the biggest winners under NAFTA.

NJ: That's not what the Democrats say.

Boehner: That's because nobody wants to deal with the facts. Ohio's been a huge winner, both on the agricultural side and auto-parts production side. If you look at the number of auto parts that we produce that go to those Canadian assemblers, we have done very well under NAFTA.

NJ: Do you think that the Obama-Biden ticket turnout in Ohio could surpass the enthusiasm for the Republican ticket?

Boehner: No. This enthusiasm gap, you can understand in the primaries; they've basically been out of power for eight years. And so they have this big turnout. But they had even bigger turnout in 1972 when they nominated George McGovern. They went on to win one state.

NJ: Is there anything else on the ballot, anything else voters are going to be concerned about in November that will help your side?

Boehner: There's some kind of paid sick leave on the ballot that the unions put on. But Gov. [Ted] Strickland's opposed to it. I don't think it will have any impact.

NJ: Are you worried about McCain's money?

Boehner: Someone ought to look at the money. Because when you look at what McCain has and what the RNC has, and you compare that to what Obama and the DNC will have, we feel very good about this being competitive nationally.

NJ: You mentioned your guys are fired up. I think earlier in the cycle when things weren't looking so well, Tom Cole was talking about the morale of incumbents being a little lower and that being a big problem. What has happened in the last few months?

Boehner: Energy, energy, energy. I don't have to remind you what the mood was like in the first week of May after we lost that third special election. Grim, it was very grim. It was about a week later we began to make the case for more American energy. All we've done is put on the accelerator ever since.

NJ: Is there anything else?

Boehner: There are other issues that are important. Health care issues are very important. If you had told me four months ago that energy would be the issue instead of health care, I probably would have said you were wrong. There are four big issues out there. It's health care. It's energy. It's jobs -- the economy and taxes. And security. That would be national security, border security, neighborhood security. Those are the four issues that we worked on over the last 18 months. You never know which one is going to have more drive to it than the others. But clearly, the energy issue has surpassed all of them.

NJ: What does that mean for health care, no matter who is president next time around, when you get back into Congress?

Boehner: We have to move our health insurance system into the 21st century. The fact that we've got the number of uninsured that we have -- the health-care delivery system is a tremendous problem. I just think it's time to find a way to insure all Americans. We need to put doctors and patients back in charge of their health care. I think we have to reward quality and reward innovation as well. We've got a system that produces more technology than the rest of the world combined. But we're in danger of losing. We've got 49 percent of people in America who get their health care today from the government. And if you look at these government-paid systems, they underfund the entire health-care delivery system. It's just not healthy at all.

And so, we've got to do our part. Someone has to lead here. If you look at all this, whether it's health care, whether it's entitlement reform -- things that Americans know have to be dealt with, but Washington just says, "Oh, well do it next time" -- I think McCain's one of those guys who's not afraid to lead, who I think will take on the big issues. I think having the courage to deal with these big issues facing Americans will be rewarded by the American people.

NJ: Are you saying Bush was afraid to lead?

Boehner: No, in the case of Bush, obviously, he tried on Social Security and he didn't get very far. But I do think that 9-11, the war on terror, consumed an awful lot of the focus of the Bush years, and rightly so.

NJ: You mentioned that you guys are going to do better than expected in House races. What are some of the things of the things that maybe we aren't seeing that gives you that feeling?

Boehner: The first thing you want to look at is incumbents' numbers, the low approval ratings for Congress. If you're an incumbent, you've got a challenge in front of you. And you'd better have a real case to make to your constituents about why you ought to get re-elected. And so there are going to be some incumbents who have no idea that they are going to lose until Election Day.

We're trying to make sure none of them are Republicans. But there are going to be some Democrats, I can assure you of that. And we have some challengers out there who do a good job. You look at David Cappiello up in Connecticut for Nancy Johnson's seat. The demographics are good for us there. He's the right candidate doing a good job, and a well-run campaign. Lou Barletta's race against [Paul] Kanjorski -- I did an event for Barletta up in Wilkes-Barre, there were a couple of hundred people there, and I don't think there was one Republican. With Anne Northup in Louisville, Kentucky -- people are not paying that much attention to it -- we may not have a great chance, but she's one of the fiercest competitors I have ever seen.

All of our incumbents who are in tough races have been in tough races. And, you have to remember, they all survived 2006, which was a Republican bloodbath.

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