Being a leader was never meant to be an easy job. Whether it is in school organizations, the workplace, military or politics, people like to continuously criticize leaders but never offer any solutions or feedback.

The word “leadership” should be plastered in or across every Republican member’s Washington, D.C. office. The recent fiscal cliff debate showcased how the meaning of leadership and supporting the leader within the Republican Party nearly went out the door.

Speaker John Boehner kept his job, though a coup attempt was planned and poorly executed. For the Republicans, the 113th Congress battles are about to begin and leadership will have to be strong if they want to keep control of the House of Representatives in the 114th Congress.

The political battles will start with gun control, raising the debt ceiling, cutting spending and possibly ending with comprehensive immigration reform.  If I learned anything from the fiscal cliff debate, it is that all hell broke loose within the Republican Party leadership. Speaker Boehner nearly lost his Speaker position because some Republicans did not want to negotiate with the Democratic Party’s demands.

I don’t agree with the Democrats view on the fiscal cliff, nor do I believe in higher taxes and more spending with no drastic budget cuts. The U.S. has a spending problem, and Democrats need to realize we cannot continue to spend more without making significant budget cuts.

I believe Speaker Boehner did the best he could with what was brought to the table. President Obama was in no way going to cave in to the Republican Party’s demands. President Obama has nothing to lose. He won his re-election, and Democrats will keep the Senate until 2016, if not longer, and they will bring all political force to win the House in the 2014 midterm election.

Those in the Republican Party that wanted Boehner fired should realize they have to support the leader of the team, in this case the party. Just like in sports, you have to support the leader(s) no matter how bad the game gets because, at the end of the day, if there is no support behind these people, then the team falls apart.

This is the same concept with the Republican Party. If Republicans do not commit to Boehner’s leadership, then the party will fall in 2014 and possibly lose the House, thus giving the Democrats complete control in the 114th Congress.

Remember what happened in the 111th Congress (Obamacare?). Now is the time for the Republican House members to forget the 112th Congress, remain strong and show support to Boehner in the 113th Congress because it is going to be a bumpy ride.

(This article was originally published by The Daily O’Collegian)

© Jose L. Fulgencio 2013