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John Boehner Pretends He Isn’t Speaker Of The House

Perhaps my favorite GOP response to the downgrade announcement came from the Speaker of the House.

Said House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio): “Democrats who run Washington remain unwilling to make the tough choices required to put America on solid ground.” He quoted the S&P report as saying that reforming entitlement programs is necessary, but he did not mention its discussion of the potential need for new tax revenue.

This is almost beautiful, in a comedic sort of way.

First, S&P blamed Boehner’s hostage strategy for the downgrade, so Boehner trying to shift the blame elsewhere is cheap and cowardly. Second, Dems were willing to make all kinds of “tough choices,” but found Boehner was too weak to persuade his own caucus to compromise.

But that’s just routine nonsense. What I especially enjoyed is the notion that, from Boehner’s perspective, Democrats “run Washington.”

I’ve noticed the Speaker has referenced that wording a few times recently, so I checked Boehner’s own website to see how many times the Speaker’s office has used the phrase. I found over 3,000 results. For a guy who’s only been Speaker for seven months, it suggests this is a phrase Boehner absolutely loves.

There is, however, one small problem, which Boehner may have lost sight of: he’s the elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was able to become Speaker because Republicans enjoy a House majority.

And if Republicans enjoy a House majority, it necessarily means Democrats don’t “run Washington.”

This need not be complicated. When Boehner goes to work, does he see the Secret Service agents around him? Does he notice where it says “Speaker of the House” above the door he walks through? Does he realize when President Obama negotiates with him, it’s not because the president enjoys Boehner’s company?

Obviously, I get the point of the little rhetorical exercise. Washington is unpopular, so Boehner wants voters to blame the party that “runs” things in DC. But as rhetorical games go, this one is just pathetic, even by GOP standards.

By: Steve Benen, Contributing Writer, Washington Monthly- Political Animal, August 8, 2011

August 9, 2011 Posted by | Congress, Conservatives, Debt Crisis, Democracy, Democrats, Elections, GOP, Government, Ideologues, Ideology, Politics, Republicans, Right Wing, Standard and Poor's, Tax Increases, Tax Loopholes, Taxes, Teaparty, Voters | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blame For The Debt Ceiling Crisis Rests With Republicans

Are you watching your 401(k) drop? Are you seeing your retirement tank? Are you waiting for higher interest rates on your credit cards and mortgages? Are you nervous about another recession?

Well, thank the Republicans.

This debt crisis is totally of the Republicans’ making. From the beginning we should have had a clean vote—up or down—on the debt ceiling, just as Ronald Reagan and other presidents have done.

If Speaker John Boehner and the Republicans allow a default with  their last minute antics things are only going to get worse. That is  clear.

And the very notion of revisiting this silly scenario in six months  is absurd. For the life of me I can think of no quicker way to sink our  economy. Will that give confidence to the markets? Not a chance. Will it  result in a downgrading of our credit rating? In all likelihood it  will.

The sad truth is that without the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy,  without the oil and gas loopholes and, most important, without two wars  that the Republicans and Bush failed to pay for, we would be in the  black right now, or close to it.

Democrats will have to come up with a grand compromise, hurting many  segments of our society, to bail out the Republicans, much the way Bill  Clinton did in the 1990s. Revenues will have to be part of that package.  Hopefully, that can happen when cooler heads prevail and the Tea Party  stops their nonsense.

In the meantime, if the stock market continues to drop and Americans  are taken to the cleaners, pick up the phone and thank John Boehner and  the Tea Party Republicans for what they have done to your bank accounts  and your savings.

All this sound and fury comes out of the majority in the House and  not one bill on jobs, not one piece of legislation to help our economy.  Sad.

 

By: Peter Fenn, U. S. News and World Report, July 28, 2011

July 28, 2011 Posted by | Budget, Class Warfare, Congress, Conservatives, Consumer Credit, Consumers, Debt Ceiling, Debt Crisis, Deficits, Democracy, Democrats, Economy, GOP, Government, Government Shut Down, Ideologues, Ideology, Jobs, Lawmakers, Middle Class, Mortgages, Politics, Public, Public Opinion, Republicans, Right Wing, Teaparty, Wealthy | , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

   

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