Washington ( CNN ) -- Two things motivate House Speaker John Boehner in his showdown with Democrats and President Barack Obama , sources close to him say -- one personal , one philosophical . The personal one is evident through how he deals with his caucus of 232 Republicans , especially the unruly tea party group . Boehner originally did not want to tie a contentious effort to defund Obamacare to spending legislation needed to avert a shutdown . He expressed that sentiment as far back as March . `` Our goal here is to cut spending . It 's not to shut down the government , '' Boehner said . `` I believe that trying to put Obamacare on this vehicle risks shutting down the government . That 's not what our goal is . '' But ultimately , there were enough House Republicans demanding the two issues be linked that Boehner changed his mind . Why ? `` He has been seen people rise and fall , '' a source close to him said . In fact , he was one of them . When Boehner was House Republican Conference chairman , he was part of a small group of House Republican leaders who met in 1997 to discuss ousting their fellow Republican speaker , Newt Gingrich . Opinion : No good options for Boehner . The coup failed and Boehner claimed he was only gathering information , not conspiring . But by the next year , his fellow Republicans had ousted him from leadership . Upon hearing the bad news , he told an aide , `` We are going to smile , we are going to work hard , and earn our way back . '' And he did just that -- from exile through various top positions on committees to the leadership of House Republicans and then his election as speaker . `` You could never have predicted in 1998 the recovery of John Boehner , '' said Gingrich , now a host of CNN 's `` Crossfire . '' `` So I think first of all his discipline , his focus on getting the job done , being a very effective insider , raising resources , campaigning for members . `` He managed to recover , which is historically not abnormal -- Speaker Longworth had the same kind of experience , so it happens occasionally . But it takes an unusual amount of willpower to be defeated by your colleagues , and make a comeback with the same colleagues , '' Gingrich said . The lesson learned ? Listen to party members and try to adapt to what they want -- sometimes leading them , sometimes following , sometimes protecting them from themselves , and sometimes -- as with the government shutdown -- letting them learn the lesson that if you touch a pot on a hot stove , you will get burned . `` When he was sworn in as speaker , he had 15 rebels vote against him on the House floor . He has this group of 30 to 40 hardcore conservatives who are more than willing to dump John Boehner any chance they can , '' said John Feehery , a consultant and former aide to Republican leaders . Congress still gets paid . `` From Boehner 's perspective , he 's learned from what happened with Newt Gingrich . That 's why he 's more disciplined , listening more to his caucus , less likely to freelance than Newt was . Going through this process for him is more of a step-by-step process , '' Feehery said . Not enough House Republicans yet see that this path is likely one that will hurt them politically . When that changes , Boehner will pursue a path out . But he will not be exiled again . `` Listen . We 've got a lot of divergent opinions in the caucus and the key to any leadership job is to listen , '' Boehner said two weeks ago . `` You know , I was here during the Gingrich era . He had a little plaque that was in his office . And it was a management model : 'Listen , learn , help , and leave . ' We listened to our colleagues over the course of the last week . We have a plan that they 're happy with . '' The philosophical part of this equation is Boehner 's concern about the debt and his belief that Obama does n't get it . `` The president told me in the Oval Office back in December , 'We do n't have a spending problem , we have a health care problem , ' Boehner said in an interview in late March . `` And as long as the president continues to cling to the fact that we do n't have a spending problem , and clings to the fact that we 're not taxing the American people enough , it 's going to make it hard to get to an agreement . '' But it 's not like the House Republicans ' budget balances . `` Our budget is a vision of how we would go , '' Boehner said . `` And clearly we believe that Obamacare is bad for the country , it 's going to drive up the cost of health insurance for the American people . It 's going to hurt employers building to hire more people . It 's not in the nation 's interest . '' Democrats , Republicans and the insane leap into the abyss .
House Speaker John McCain originally did n't attempt to tie spending bill to Obamacare . McCain was involved in a coup when Newt Gingrich was speaker after last shutdown . In the aftermath of failed ouster of Gingrich , Boehner lost his leadership post . Boehner has learned lessons from that experience , former House leadership aide said .