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On Tuesday, 25 Tea Party Republicans vote against their partys candidate for Speaker of the House, knowing that they would almost surely be unable to defeat John Boehner or elect a Speaker more to their liking?

Because they are crazies? Not necessarily. In fact, it could be a very smart move, from their point of view. It would provide a credible threat that if he brings a bi-partisan compromise to the floor that they and just a few other like-minded Republicans oppose, they would have sufficient votes to remove him as Speaker by a motion on the House floor to vacate the chair. It was just such a threat that prevented Boehner last term from bringing to the floor a number of bipartisan compromises, including immigration reform.

If House Democrats are interested in increasing the chances of such compromises and neutralizing the Tea Party threat, they can very easily. All that they would need to do is to sign a public letter to Boehner assuring him that they will provide whatever votes are necessary to defeat a motion to vacate the chair during this session of Congress. There is no need to negotiate with thespeaker or Republicans leadership on this strategy in fact, it would be better for Boehners relations with his caucus if they didnt. It would also play well with an American public looking for bi-partisan accomplishment.

Boehner, of course, would publicly dismiss the offer and declare that he needs no such help and intends to preside with the full support of his party's caucus. Privately, he will appreciate the help and relish the irony.

Steven Pearlstein is a business and economics columnist who writes about local, national and international topics.

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Wonkblog: To quash the tea party once and for all, Democrats should publicly back John Boehner