John Boehner quits 'frenzy' in Congress: Our view

One of the most frequently asked questions in Washington this week was whether Pope Francis’ eloquent speech to Congress would have a positive effect on the institution.

Friday’s announcement by Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, that he will resign Oct. 30 suggests that the answer is no, at least for the near term.

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Boehner has long been a target of his party’s hyperpartisan insurgents, who want him to be more confrontational with President Obama and Democrats. After a destructive 16-day government shutdown concocted in 2013 as an unsuccessful effort to repeal Obamacare, they are now pushing for another shutdown — this one to force the defunding of Planned Parenthood. Boehner’s reluctance to agree to that tactic has infuriated them.

For his part, Boehner correctly bristles that his critics ignore the political reality posed by a Democratic president and a united Democratic Senate minority. On CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday, Boehner denounced groups and members of Congress “who whip people into a frenzy believing they can accomplish things that they know — they know — are never going to happen.”

While Boehner has hardly been the model of a legislative leader during his nearly five years as speaker, he is what passes for a grown-up in today’s fractious House Republican caucus. If he had gotten his way in 2011, Republicans and Democrats would have come together in a tough but necessary plan to reduce the deficit and trim entitlement spending. If he had had his way in 2013, the House GOP would not have shut down the government.

His decision to leave, rather than fight a looming no-confidence vote in his caucus, could buy at least temporary peace. The resignation will open the way for the House to vote to keep the government open. It would be wise to use this likely interlude of responsible governance to extend the debt ceiling as well.

Whatever momentary advantage Boehner’s resignation offers, it is a loss for Congress. It will encourage the far right to be more aggressive. The most likely successor, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., would face the same problems Boehner does in dealing with Republicans’ intensifying civil war. If a shutdown is averted in the coming week, it could still threaten again as soon as mid-December.

Boehner’s exit is a loss for the Republican Party, too. To win the presidency next year, and indeed to be a vibrant party in the future, the GOP will have to forge an identity beyond its most extreme elements, whose strength will only grow after their victory.

The resignation is also a loss for the country. Pope Francis’ speech, which came out of an invitation from Boehner himself, was predicated on the idea that Congress is an honorable institution engaged in what the pope called a “tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good.”

At the time he delivered his remarks, that assessment was overly generous. After this resig- nation, it seems even more so.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature.

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