Does Boehner Even Want to Win Big?

Win! But Don't Win Too Big: Dick Morris, preaching what he practices, counsels Republicans in favor of overconfidence.  The argument is that by setting their sights too low, the party's official cash-dispensers might deny funding to candidates who look like longshots but could in fact win in an anti-Democratic landslide....  But you have to wonder if a GOP leader like potential House Speaker John Boehner even wants to win big in November. It's not just that Boehner needs to temper public predictions of triumph, lest a small victory be played by the media as a defeat. It's that a small victory might, for at least two reasons, actually be the best outcome for him.  1) A sizable GOP House majority would raise expectations that Boehner actually accomplish something--maybe even restraining the size of government. That's very difficult to do even when you control all three branches, and isn't necessarily popular when you do it. Tactically, with a big House majority, Boehner would feel pressure to pull the sort of stunt--a government shutdown to repeal Obama's health plan?--that got Newt Gingrich into trouble; 2) A large GOP wave would sweep into Congress fringe, outsider Tea Partyish elements who would be hard to manage and might rebel against the chummy relations between the party's leaders and lobbyists. You could even see obstreperous TPs making trouble for the Republicans' corporate backers. ... No, a nice Goldilocks-y 45-vote GOP swing, giving Boehner a slim majority (but still control over House committees) may look much more appealing than the 100 seat victory Morris wants to shoot for. ... 1:22 p.m.

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