This isn’t a surprising turn of events. In the run-up to the Sept. 12 march on Washington, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) were surprise guests at a Sept.  10 rally outside the Capitol. That event was actually identical to this one–protesters fanned out after the rally to talk to their members of Congress. But the crowd at that rally was smaller and more controlled, with most protesters holding FreedomWorks signs that had been passed out. The crowd at this rally was far less on-message. By the end of the day, the images that made it out of the rally were of protesters waving signs comparing health care reform to the Holocaust, and the video that made it out of the protest was heavy on Bachmann — one of the people Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) seemed to be referring to in a cryptic October comment about how to deal with a “problem member” who keeps making news.

“They must be thinking they’ll have good news,” Norquist told TWI.

On Tuesday, voters go to the polls to elect governors in New Jersey and Virginia and new members of Congress in NY-23 and CA-10. If nothing else breaks their way, Republicans are expected to win a resounding victory down the ballot in Virginia. If New Jersey and NY-23 break against the Democrats, Republicans are ready to push their advantage and argue that the electorate wants Congress to put the brakes on liberal policies.

Yeah, John Boehner was that guy. A Townhall column from April 2008:

But there is a clear distinction between saying you support the troops and backing up those claims with genuine action. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) once said “we shouldn’t play chicken with our troops” when it comes to funding our troops in harm’s way, and his colleague Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) urged General Petraeus at the start of the surge to request “every possible piece of equipment and resource necessary” to keep our troops safe. These words turned into little more than empty rhetoric when both proceeded to vote against funding our troops last year.

Luckily, the John Boehner of 2008 was reached for comment and he bemoaned the John Boehner of 2009’s dearth of patriotism. “If only I had Googled myself, none of this embarrassment would have occurred,” said Boehner 2008.

President Obama has made a sound choice that will improve our security. The President’s decision focuses on fielding effective capabilities to defend our forward deployed force and allies in Europe against the real and existing missile threat from Iran, which consists of short- and medium-range missiles, rather than only against a potential future long-range threat. Iran already has many hundreds of short- and medium-range missiles, and has been adding more, but will not have long-range missiles for years to come.

President Obama’s decision supports NATO’s policy to address missile threats “in a prioritized manner that includes consideration of the level of imminence of the threat and the level of acceptable risk.” It also supports the security needs of our European allies, some of whom are within range of Iranian missiles today. This decision reinforces our security commitment to our European allies; it does not weaken it.

Secretary Gates has assured us that both Poland and the Czech Republic are positive about this approach and that they are being offered the opportunity to participate in this phased, adaptive missile defense architecture. We understand, specifically, that Poland is being offered a Patriot battery (their first priority) and Standard missiles for deployment on their soil.

We cannot proceed, in any event, with deployment of the previously-proposed missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic because the conditions required in our law have not been met, including ratification by Poland and the Czech Republic of agreements relating to such deployments. Moreover, that proposed system would not defend against the threat to them and other countries in Europe of short- and medium-range missiles from Iran.

The President’s decision also opens the door to missile defense cooperation with Russia, which would send a powerful signal to Iran. It could also help increase our regional missile defense capability if Russia shares missile flight data from its Armavir radar. NATO has repeatedly supported U.S.-Russian cooperation on missile defense. President Obama’s decision will not threaten Russia, and it offers an opportunity for missile defense to serve as a uniting issue, rather than a dividing one.

Now imagine that. A U.S.-Russia collaboration on missile defenses, something that hearkens back to the Reykjavik summit between Reagan and Gorbachev. Administration officials, on and off the record, have been saying all day that there isn’t any quid pro quo for scrapping a ballistic missile shield that provokes Russia for one that doesn’t. Indeed, there wouldn’t need to be any. It’s cost-free to get rid of a bone in another person’s throat, and it favorably inclines him toward what you’d like to do.

–

You can follow TWI on Twitter and Facebook.

“Scrapping the U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic does little more then empower Russia and Iran at the expense of our allies in Europe,” said Representative John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, the House minority leader. “It shows a willful determination to continue ignoring the threat posed by some of the most dangerous regimes in the world, while taking one of the most important defenses against Iran off the table.”

First: there will still be a missile shield, of improved technological prowess, to deal with short-range Iranian missiles. Second: only someone who has no idea what they are talking about would describe Iran and Russia together as “some of the most dangerous regimes in the world.” There was this thing that happened in 1991 that changed the world. If what Boehner means is that Russia’s military capabilities make it one of the most dangerous regimes, then congratulations, America: you are the most dangerous regime in the world by orders of magnitude. This Boehner fellow has a subtle mind.

Months ago, Republicans sent the President a letter noting areas of potential common ground on health care reform and requesting a meeting with him to discuss a bipartisan way forward … Now, Democratic leaders find themselves all alone … The more the American people learn about this plan, the less they like it. It’s time for President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and congressional Democrats to scrap this costly plan, start over and work with Republicans[.]”

As Greg Sargent points out, polling consistently finds that Americans blame Republicans, not the president, for the lack of bipartisan progress in Washington. Republicans have tried to have it both ways, pronouncing their unanimous January and February votes against the stimulus as the start of their comeback, while complaining that the president won’t keep inviting them to the table.

Our Democratic friends are going to feel the heat in August from the American people as a consequence of the massively flawed health care bill, and rightly so … We’ve also put “entrepreneurial insurgency” into action.  As Politico reported yesterday, Republicans now outnumber Democrats by a 2-to-1 margin in the use of Twitter.  Earlier this year, The Washington Times reported that Congressional Republicans are dominating our Democratic counterparts in the use of YouTube as a messaging tool.

The NRCC is sending out a raft of releases to local media in Massachusetts — targeting, among others, Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.) who represents Cambridge.

The point here isn’t Capuano — his district is one of the most liberal in the country — but that the GOP is searching for issues that can recapture conservative Dems and independents by portraying the president as a cop-bashing liberal.

“Does Michael Capuano believe President Obama’s comments were becoming of someone who holds the highest office in the land?” said NRCC Communications Director Ken Spain.

I was just on a call with Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) in which Thrush asked the minority leader to weigh in; Boehner declined and said he only knew about the case from “newspaper reports.”

Minority Leader John Boehner’s PAC, the Freedom Project, donated $5,000 to Posey’s campaign in June. Minority Whip Eric Cantor’s ERICPAC gave $7,500.