Americans picked their leaders back in November – and [today], it’s the House’s turn to decide who leads them. For the 114th Congress, the first vote may be their most important one: choosing the chamber’s Speaker. For two terms, that job has belonged to Ohio Congressman John Boehner, a man who’s had a difficult job trying to lead a diverse majority.

But as his party grows more conservative, a number of Republicans think he’s compromised too much too soon in key debates over government spending, illegal immigration, and ObamaCare. Now, after three weeks at home with angry voters (who couldn’t believe the GOP’s capitulation to the White House after the election rout), what seemed like a done deal – the Speaker’s re-election – is anything but.

Under the 114th Congress, it would take 29 Republicans splitting with Boehner to kick off a second round of votes and potentially dislodge the Ohioan. Some conservatives tried to replace Boehner in 2013, when a group of them lined up to oppose his speakership, but ultimately fell short. This time around, his challengers are picking up steam, as a number of Republicans (old and new) are publicly rebelling against the status quo and the leader they blame for the trillion-dollar failure of the CRomnibus.

Rookies like Dave Brat (who knows a little something about unseating the Establishment) made it clear that he’s coming to Washington to fix problems – not perpetuate old ones. Like the rest of his colleagues, Brat has been getting an earful from his constituents about their frustration with House leadership – whose latest refusal to deal with the President’s amnesty order sent voters over the edge. “…I do not cast this vote for Speaker as an individual,” Brat wrote in a fiery op-ed, “but on behalf of the citizens of Virginia’s Seventh District who sent me to Washington to act as their representative. While I like Speaker Boehner personally, he will not have my support for Speaker. Washington is broken in part because our party’s leadership has strayed from its own principles.”

And Republicans agree. An overwhelming number of GOP voters – 64 percent – believe Speaker Boehner has been “ineffective in opposing President Obama’s agenda,” hardly a ringing endorsement for business as usual in the U.S. House. Another 60 percent were ready to clean out the leadership’s offices and replace Boehner as Speaker. Only 11 percent said they “definitely” wanted to keep him – giving new legs to the effort to oust Boehner and put the gavel in the hands of a conservative.

So far, a handful of Republicans are throwing their hat into the Speaker’s ring, including Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla). “There have been numerous examples of problematic leadership,” Louie said Sunday on “Fox and Friends,” “but we were hopeful our leaders got the voters’ message. However, after our Speaker forced through the CRomnibus by passing it with Democratic votes and without time to read it, it seemed clear that we needed leadership… At this point, the Speaker’s election is not about a particular candidate. It is about whether we keep the status quo or make the change the country demands.”

As the old adage goes, elections have consequences. If we want to experience the change voters wanted in November, Congress needs a change of direction. Tomorrow, we stand with the conservatives who are standing with the American people in demanding the bold new leadership this country needs.

Military Support Tanks for Obama

As head of our military, the President commands plenty of things – but respect isn’t one of them. If you ask most service members, and the Military Times did, confidence in the commander-in-chief is in short supply in today’s ranks. Dipping to the lowest numbers ever, President Obama’s approval rating with our service members barely cracks 15 percent – a 20-point drop since his inauguration seven years ago.

Of all the diversity in our ranks, “one thing is clear,” the Times suggests: “He is a deeply unpopular commander-in-chief among the troops.” Although liberal presidents have never enjoyed broad support in the military, our Armed Forces may finally be at the breaking point after seven years of extreme social engineering. In less than two terms, President Obama has radically changed the military culture, undercutting – not just good order and discipline – but the faith of the brave men and women who serve.

After pulling more troops out of the Middle East, people assumed the President’s support would rebound. Instead, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” women serving in infantry units and on the front lines, budget cuts, hostility toward religion, and an openness to transgenderism have all snowballed into a deep-seated resentment that shows no signs of letting up. And while our servicemen don’t have to like the President, they do have to respect him – a dilemma faced by a vast majority of the troops surveyed here.

Unfortunately, the spike in suicides, sexual assaults, and job dissatisfaction haven’t stopped – or even slowed – this administration’s race to fundamentally transform the world’s most effect fighting force. Ultimately, something will have to give – and that something will either be the White House’s politics or our troops’ will.

NYT Chalks up Homeschooling to Frustrated Parents

Home is where the heart is, but in the latest homeschooling boom, it’s also where the classroom is. More families are angry about what their kids are learning – and they’re pulling their kids out of public school to prove it. In a lead story for today’s New York Times, reporters are stunned by the mass exodus of children from traditional education settings. Like most stories, this one focuses on the rapid growth of the homeschooling movement – up from 1.5 million to 1.8 million in just five years. And based on the crackdown on religion, out-of-control sex ed, and genderless chaos, who can blame them?

As the Times points out, religious families aren’t the only ones making the jump. Outrage over Common Core and other testing frustrations are driving parents of all backgrounds to pull their children from public classrooms. Virginia, New York, California, and South Carolina are all experiencing huge leaps in homeschooling. In North Carolina, the number of kids in home schools is actually growing faster than private school enrollment – climbing 14% over the last year. At least at home, parents can take back the control that schools are stealing from them!

Of course, not everyone is happy about the shift – least of all Big Government bureaucrats, who are worried they’re losing their grip on students. Not surprisingly, a common theme of the Times piece was the lack of regulation on homeschoolers, which is already becoming a rallying point of liberals. “Here we are loosening standards for a subset of students while at the same time giving them the same credentials as other students,” complained one public school advocate. Clearly, parents and state legislators need to be on their toes in the coming months as liberals will no doubt try to fight back with tighter restrictions and more regulations on homeschoolers in an effort to protect government schooling.

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.