As you’ve often heard me say, this isn’t about me. It’s about the people. It’s about the institution,” John Boehner said last Friday, following the announcement of his resignation as congressman and speaker of the House. His personal epigram indicates his core political ideology: He always puts the United States and its citizens above party-line politics.

The tea leaves show the beginning of the end for John Boehner, as a combination of stubbornness and conservative forces mix up a lethal brew for the new Speaker of the House. For the last two years when the Republicans were out of power, John Boehner was the point person. He argued against every single agenda item with the simple retort: Where are the jobs?