A Grand Coalition

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, won the most votes in the recent German election. Her party fell short of a majority, though, so she is negotiating a grand coalition with the main opposition party.  This sort of thing occurs in parliamentary systems either because there is an emergency (the "National Unity" government in World War II between Churchill and the Labour Party) or because there is no other way to govern effectively until the next election.

John Boehner should think about this sort of arrangement with Nancy Pelosi.  With due respect to Sandy, the current stalemate is not the result of a constitutional defect.  It is a product of the Hastert Rule, which holds that nothing can reach the floor unless a majority of the GOP caucus agrees. This is neither a constitutional requirement nor a traditional practice of the House.  It allows a small minority (probably 20% at most) to block anything.  This is much worse than the Senate filibuster, about which so many (including myself) have complained. Without the Hastert Rule, passing a debt ceiling increase, immigration reform, and other measures would be more likely.

It's easy to see why Democrats might go for this (depending on what they received in exchange for supporting Boehner as Speaker).  Is there any reason to think that Boehner or other Republicans would be interested?  Probably not, but in Boehner's case the answer might be that his job is so unpleasant at this point that working with Democrats does not look so bad.  Another way to think about this is that Boehner could just start making more exceptions to the Hastert Rule and call the bluff of the Tea Party faction.  After all, who else can they elect as Speaker?

UPDATE:  One other thought.  Speaker Boehner is reaching the same point-of-no return on the Affordable Care Act that Chief Justice Roberts faced last year.  Does he want to take the plunge and continue to resist, or should he vote with the other team, so to speak?