McConnell Should Quit Next

Minutes after House Speaker John Boehner announced his resignation from Congress, political types and pundits quickly pivoted toward his Senate counterpart Mitch McConnell, putting a bulls-eye gaze on the long-serving Kentucky lawmaker that reads “Next!”

Across Twitter, Facebook and other social media, the McConnell-must-go mantra ginned up in earnest in the wake of Boehner’s decision to step down from his political leadership post after serving as speaker for a bumpy five years.

“Boehner did the honorable thing. now it’s time for McConnell to follow suit,” noted Conservative Review senior editor Daniel Horowitz, posting under his Twitter handle @RMConservative.

Noted another Tweet from @RealBlackCourage in Dallas:  “Glad to see @SpeakerBoehner doing the right thing. Now we’ll see if crotchety Mitch McConnell will be as honorable OR go down fighting.”

The GOP shake-up in the House portended uncertainty in leadership for Republicans. “Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign,” added another Twitter poster, @TheClotureClub, of the Boehner exit and certain shake-up on the right.

Some conservatives were energized by Boehner’s abrupt announcement, one day after the Catholic lawmaker held a tearful meeting with Pope Francis.

Those attending a Values Voter Summit Friday applauded loudly as they learned from presidential candidate Marco Rubio of Boehner’s decision.

Some on the left wondered whether now, with the Boehner roadblock out of the way, what was to come from House conservatives. “I’m actually terrified. The man did his best to hold back the full insanity of the right-wing extremists…which means that insanity is about to be unleashed,” noted one Democrat on Facebook.

Boehner’s departure avoids a government shutdown that House Republicans have threatened, as well as a no-confidence vote also threatened by some lawmakers against the Ohio Republican leader. Whether Boehner holds onto his House seat or leaves Congress all-together is uncertain.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, described the resignation as “a stark indication of the disarray of House Republicans.”

McConnell, himself, pitched a stop-gap spending bill in the Senate, geared at averting any government shutdown. He praised Boehner, in the wake of his announcement, as an “ally” and “friend.”

As the 2016 presidential election cycle continues, Boehner and McConnell have been tied together for what some conservatives decry as their failure to advance their agenda in Congress, making both a target on the campaign trail, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“We won the Senate. We won the House. What was the point of winning those chambers if we’re not going to do anything with them?”

Already, other GOP presidential contenders, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have taken to criticizing their own party on the stump.

Added another GOP candidate, Bobby Jindal, who serves as governor of Louisiana: “We won the Senate. We won the House. What was the point of winning those chambers if we’re not going to do anything with them?”

The Journal outlined the ongoing Boehner-McConnell blame-game inside a divided Republican Party, and a certain impetus for cries that the Senate Majority Leader should also take an exit now.

“Many conservatives are bitter with disappointment that, even after Republicans won control of both the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014, party leaders are not fighting harder for conservative ideals,” the Journal said.