Mediaite » John Boehner

Speaker Boehner Sheds Tears After Embracing Gabby Giffords

Alex Alvarez — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:00:50 +0000

Speaker John Boehner, who appeared stoic throughout much of the morning’s proceedings, had an emotional moment after embracing a departing Gabby Giffords.

As DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz helped her down the aisle towards Boehner, Giffords appeared to stumble slightly. Speaker Boehner reached out to steady the Arizona congresswoman and help her up, greeting her with a kiss on the cheeck. He accepted her formal letter of resignation, then, tearfully, leaned in to offer a second kiss.

The two then held hands before their colleagues as Boehner’s face contorted with emotion. As Giffords made her way back down, the Speaker reached for a tissue to wipe away his tears.

Yeah, fine, I was sobbing. You?

Have a look, via C-Span:

Chris Wallace Grills Speaker Boehner On ‘Do-Nothing Congress’: ‘One Of Least Productive Ever’

Josh Feldman — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:19:16 +0000

One of the key strategies President Obama is utilizing in his reelection bid this year is to run against the “do-nothing Congress,” and on Fox News Sunday today, Chris Wallace asked House Speaker John Boehner to respond to that line of attack and the notion that Congress has been increasingly ineffective. Boehner argued that the focus of House Republicans over the past few months has been on job creation, and pointed to recent successes on the payroll tax cut and unemployment as evidence that Congress has been able to work with the president.

Conversely, Boehner argued that Obama’s policies “have failed to get our economy moving again” and made the economy worse. Wallace pointed to studies that showed this current Congress has been the least productive in years, with only 80 laws passed with 20 percent of those focused on naming buildings and other “housekeeping” measures. He contrasted Obama’s middling approval rating with a 19 percent approval rating for House Republicans.

Boehner’s argument basically boiled down to “quantity over quality,” asking if Congress passing a lot of bills would make it that much more effective. In fact, he argued that “most Americans think we’ve got too many laws already,” while pointing to 30 bills the Congress pushed through to help improve the economy. Wallace pointed out none of them ever actually got through. Boehner countered that everything they did was in service of the American people.

Wallace wanted to know if Boehner’s attitude that Obama’s policies have failed, especially going into an election year, would make this coming year of Congress less effective than last year. Boehner suggested some provisions proposed by Obama’s jobs council are exactly what Republicans have been pushing for.

Watch the video below, courtesy of Fox News:

Boehner Blasts Obama Over Approving Solyndra But Rejecting Keystone XL Pipeline

James Crugnale — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:07:44 +0000

Speaker of the House John Boehner lambasted President Obama for rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline during a press conference on Wednesday. “President Obama expedited approval of the Solyndra loan project, but won’t approve a project that’s been under review for over three years.”

“President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese,” Boehner exclaimed. “There’s really no other way to put it. The President is selling out American jobs for politics. The President was given the authority to block this project only and only if he believed it was not in the national interest of the United States. It’s not in the national interest to create tens of thousands of jobs here in America with private investment? The President has said he’ll do anything he can to create jobs, today, that promise was broken.”

President Obama defended himself in a statement saying Republican’s hurried deadline on the issue forced him to make the decision.

“The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment,” Obama wrote. “I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil.”

Watch Boehner’s remarks Obama’s Keystone XL pipeline decision, and Shep Smith reading Obama’s statement via Fox News:

Mel Gib-zing! GOP Rep Peter King Says Payroll Tax Fight Was More Gallipoli Than Braveheart

Tommy Christopher — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:55:47 +0000

House Republicans have taken a decent share of ridicule over their cinematic motivational rituals, but now, they’re even taking friendly fire over their use of the film Braveheart‘s central character, William Wallace, to get pumped about the payroll tax cut fight. In an interview with Fox Business’s Connell McShane, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said he was in the Braveheart meeting, and was thinking “Mel Gibson was also in Gallipoli, which was one of the worst military defeats ever.”

“That (the Gallipoli campaign),” King continued, “was also one where they went charging in, the British were convinced they were going to win, and they got wiped out, and that’s what I saw happening to us.”

McShane also asked King if he thought this defeat would jeopardize Rep. John Boehner‘s position as Speaker of the House.

“The only person who might be saying that,” King replied, “is probably someone who said we should have turned down the Senate deal and fought to the death on this. That would have been a fight to the death. It would have killed all of us and hurt the American people.”

While Tea Party supporters and members of Congress may be inclined to blame Speaker Boehner, the real question here is what political price the Tea Party caucus pays after this. Will Speaker Boehner and the Republican establishment try and figure out a way to get them to sit down and shut up going forward?

Here’s the clip, from Fox Business’s Imus In The Morning:

Fox News Analyst Thrashes Congress On The Payroll Tax Deal With Spot-On NFL Analogy

Nando Di Fino — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:45:59 +0000

This morning on Fox and Friends, a panel led by Brian Kilmeade discussed the payroll tax cut deal reached by Congress late Thursday. While the consensus was that John Boehner‘s job is safe — and Jon Bramick, a New Jersey lawyer, said that Boehner showed some impressive leadership skills — it was Dan Gerstein, a Democratic strategist, who stole the show, giving a concise, pointed statement on just how bad things have gotten in Congress.

Gerstein brought up a stellar sports analogy to paint the Congressional picture in its perfect light. He said that, like last weekend’s Arizona Cardinals-Cleveland Browns game in the NFL (the teams are a combined 11-17), this payroll tax cut drama, “was a meaningless game played by two bad teams that only partisans care about.” He then expounded:

This is the classic example of Washington dysfunction and the lowering of standards. What are Congress’ two biggest accomplishments this year? They didn’t let the country default on the national debt and they saved a small puny tax cut that’s going to do nothing to grow the economy. That’s why the American people are disgusted.

Watch Gerstein’s take-down of Congress below, courtesy of Fox News:

Rachel Maddow Compares Speaker Boehner To A Naked Will Ferrell In Old School

Alex Alvarez — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:42:54 +0000

“Who killed John Boehner‘s career here?” Rachel Maddow would like to know, making it pretty clear she thinks that Boehner won’t still be Speaker of the House this time next year.

“This is not John Boehner tripping and falling,” she continued. “This looks like John Boehner was pushed.” She then compared his lack of support to Will Ferrell’s character’s one-man streaking fiasco in Old School and showed, like, half the movie as evidence.

So what, she asked, made Boehner think he could say no to the payroll tax cut deal and not be left running naked through a terribly overrated movie? Republicans weren’t behind him! Not big-time Republicans! Not anonymous Republicans! Not emailing Republicans! Not Republicans from Arkansas! Not even Mitch McConnell!

Maddow believes a big part of this is that Boehner is simply not so good at his job because his attitude is one of “Woo! Let’s let anything happen!” But also, she continued, someone on Boehner’s “own side” must have led him to believe that someone would have his back. Who, she wondered, could that have been?

Have a look, via MSNBC:

Greta Grills GOP Congressman On Payroll Vote: ‘You Got Politically Outmaneuvered’

Alex Alvarez — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:01:43 +0000

On Thursday, Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren chatted with Rep. Allen West (R-FL) about an “unidentified Republican congressman” who has said Speaker John Boehner may not be keeping his speakership for long.

West said he doesn’t know who might have said that, adding that he feels a bit like Charlie Brown when Lucy swipes the football out from underneath him. The last thing he wants, he told Van Susteren, is Barack Obama (whose leadership he finds lacking) in command of congressional debates. “You saw the politics of demagoguery” win out, he said.

Van Susteren didn’t hold back in her assessment of what happened:

If you believe that, then it appears you got politically outmaneuvered and that you caved and deviated from your principles. And there still were, you know, in theory, eight days left of this month and people could have stayed in Washington and pounded the pavement. But, you know, everybody knew what the deadline was. But it certainly doesn’t, you know, just from a sorta… You all seemed to have given up — those of you who have your position — because you got outmaneuvered and you didn’t have the PR. But it seems like, you know, you still didn’t fight much at the end.

…

Daaaaaang, Greta!

West, naturally, disagreed with her take on how things unfolded.

Check out their full exchange below, via Fox News:

Speaker Boehner Announces Deal To Extend Payroll Taxcut

James Crugnale — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:04:39 +0000

House Speaker John Boehner announced Thursday that a compromise had been reached with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid to extend the payroll tax cut.

“Senator Reid and I have reached an agreement that will ensure taxes do not increase for working families on January 1 while ensuring that a complex new reporting burden is not unintentionally imposed on small business job creators,” Bohener said in a statement of the agreement made with Reid. “Under the terms of our agreement, a new bill will be approved by the House that reflects the bipartisan agreement in the Senate along with new language that allows job creators to process and withhold payroll taxation under the same accounting structure that is currently in place. The Senate will join the House in immediately appointing conferees, with instructions to reach agreement in the weeks ahead on a full-year payroll tax extension. We will ask the House and Senate to approve this agreement by unanimous consent before Christmas. I thank our Members – particularly those who have remained here in the Capitol with the holidays approaching – for their efforts to enact a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut for working families.”

Watch Boehner’s remarks below via CNN:

Speaker Boehner’s Office Maintains It Had ‘No Involvement’ In Switching Off C-SPAN Coverage

Alex Alvarez — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:24:10 +0000

Yesterday, we told you about C-SPAN going silent following an awkward interaction between Rep. Steny Hoyer and his Republican colleagues who walked out of the chamber as he tried to call for a vote to extend the payroll tax.

C-SPAN had explained the incident by noting they exercise no control over the U.S. House TV cameras, but that the office of House Speaker John Boehner does. Here’s what they Tweeted yesterday:

Well, the Speaker’s office would like to clear that up.

A Boehner spokesperson has told Talk Radio News Service that “the House Recording Studio, which works under the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, operates the cameras in the House chamber. The Speaker’s office had no involvement in this matter.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for C-SPAN said the Tweet above wasn’t meant to imply that Boehner was culpable, simply that the network itself did not control the cameras within the House chambers.

h/t Talk Radio News Service

President Obama Brings #40Dollars Hashtag To Life In Payroll Tax Cut Remarks

Tommy Christopher — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:46:43 +0000

President Obama turned up the heat on House Speaker John Boehner in the battle over extending the payroll tax cut Thursday afternoon, delivering yet another set of remarks aimed at shaming the House into passing a compromise deal that the Senate has already overwhelmingly approved. This time, the President used the fruits of the #40Dollars social media campaign to bombard the House GOP with the tales of sacrifice that Americans have shared over the loss of $40 in their paychecks.

For weeks, President Obama has been calling Republicans out for their double-talk on tax cuts. When Republicans wouldn’t agree to a one-year extension of the tax cut, the Senate reached a bipartisan deal that extended it for two months, preventing a tax hike, while allowing both sides time to negotiate a longer extension. On Tuesday, House Republicans rejected the deal, demanding a conference committee with the Senate to negotiate a yearlong extension.

President Obama called them out Tuesday, and launched a social media campaign aimed at having Americans share what $40 a paycheck (the amount that most people will see their taxes go up by if the extension isn’t passed) means to them. In remarks Thursday afternoon, the President related some of those stories, and again called on the House to pass the two month extension, and negotiate a longer deal once Congress returns.

Speaker Boehner is facing blistering criticism from nearly every quarter. After hits from conservative media powerhouses like Charles Krauthammer and The Wall Street Journal, even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who negotiated the two-month compromise with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is speaking out to urge Boehner to pass the bill. At this point, the question isn’t if the House will pass the extension, but when, and how many more devastating speechlets like this will they let President Obama make?

Here are the President’s remarks, via Fox News:

Transcript: (via email from The White House)

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

ON THE PAYROLL TAX CUT

South Court Auditorium

1:00 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. (Applause.) Please have a seat. Good afternoon to all of you. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays.

We’ve been doing everything we can over the last few weeks to make sure that 160 million working Americans aren’t hit with a holiday tax increase on January 1st. We’ve also been doing everything we can to make sure that millions of people who are out there looking for work in a very tough environment don’t start losing their unemployment insurance on January 1st.

Now, on Saturday, we reached a bipartisan compromise that would do just that — make sure that people aren’t seeing a tax cut the first of the year; make sure that they still have unemployment insurance the first of the year. Nearly every Democrat in the Senate voted for that compromise. Nearly every Republican in the Senate voted for that compromise. Democrats and even some Republicans in the House voted for that compromise. I am ready to sign that compromise into law the second it lands on my desk.

So far, the only reason it hasn’t landed on my desk — the only reason — is because a faction of House Republicans have refused to support this compromise.

Now, if you’re a family making about $50,000 a year, this is a tax cut that amounts to about $1,000 a year. That’s about 40 bucks out of every paycheck. It may be that there’s some folks in the House who refuse to vote for this compromise because they don’t think that 40 bucks is a lot of money. But anyone who knows what it’s like to stretch a budget knows that at the end of the week, or the end of the month, $40 can make all the difference in the world.

And that’s why we thought we’d bring your voices into this debate. So many of these debates in Washington end up being portrayed as which party is winning, which party is losing. But what we have to remind ourselves of is this is about people. This is about the American people and whether they win. It’s not about a contest between politicians.

So on Tuesday, we asked folks to tell us what would it be like to lose $40 out of your paycheck every week. And I have to tell you that the response has been overwhelming. We haven’t seen anything like this before. Over 30,000 people have written in so far — as many as 2,000 every hour. We’re still hearing from folks — and I want to encourage everybody who’s been paying attention to this to keep sending your stories to WhiteHouse.gov and share them on Twitter and share them on Facebook.

The responses we’ve gotten so far have come from Americans of all ages and Americans of all backgrounds, from every corner of the country. Some of the folks who responded are on stage with me here today, and they should remind every single member of Congress what’s at stake in this debate. Let me just give you a few samples.

Joseph from New Jersey talked about how he would have to sacrifice the occasional pizza night with his daughters. He said — and I’m quoting — “My 16-year-old twins will be out of the house soon. I’ll miss this.”

Richard from Rhode Island wrote to tell us that having an extra $40 in his check buys enough heating oil to keep his family warm for three nights. In his words — I’m quoting — “If someone doesn’t think that 12 gallons of heating oil is important, I invite them to spend three nights in an unheated home. Or you can believe me when I say that it makes a difference.”

Pete from Wisconsin told us about driving more than 200 miles each week to keep his father-in-law company in a nursing home — $40 out of his paycheck would mean he’d only be able to make three trips instead of four.

We heard from a teacher named Claire from here in D.C. who goes to the thrift store every week and uses her own money to buy pencils and books for her fourth grade class. Once in a while she splurges on science or art supplies. Losing $40, she says, would mean she couldn’t do that anymore.

For others, $40 means dinner out with a child who’s home for Christmas, a new pair of shoes, a tank of gas, a charitable donation. These are the things at stake for millions of Americans. They matter to people. A lot.

And keep in mind that those are just the individual stories. That doesn’t account for the overall impact that a failure to extend the payroll tax cut and a failure to extend unemployment insurance would have on the economy as a whole. We’ve seen the economy do better over the last couple of months, but there’s still a lot of sources of uncertainty out there — what’s going on in Europe, what’s going on around the world. And so this is insurance to make sure that our recovery continues.

So it’s time for the House to listen to the voices who are up here, the voices all across the country, and reconsider. What’s happening right now is exactly why people just get so frustrated with Washington. This is it; this is exactly why people get so frustrated with Washington. This isn’t a typical Democratic-versus-Republican issue. This is an issue where an overwhelming number of people in both parties agree. How can we not get that done? I mean, has this place become so dysfunctional that even when people agree to things we can’t do it? (Applause.) It doesn’t make any sense.

So, enough is enough. The people standing with me today can’t afford any more games. They can’t afford to lose $1,000 because of some ridiculous Washington standoff. The House needs to pass a short-term version of this compromise, and then we should negotiate an agreement as quickly as possible to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance for the rest of 2012. It’s the right thing to do for the economy, and it’s, most importantly, the right thing to do for American families all across the country.

This is not just my view. Just a few hours ago, this is exactly what the Republican Leader of the Senate said we should do. Democrats agree with the Republican Leader of the Senate. We should go ahead and get this done. This should not be hard. We all agree it should happen. I believe it’s going to happen sooner or later. Why not make it sooner, rather than later? Let’s give the American people — the people who sent us here — the kind of leadership they deserve.

Thank you, everybody. (Applause.)

END 1:08 P.M. EST

C-SPAN Says Speaker Boehner’s Office Is To Blame For Channel Going Silent After Call For Payroll Tax Vote

Alex Alvarez — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:13:14 +0000

This morning, as Maryland’s Rep. Steny Hoyer (D) tried to call for a vote to extend the payroll tax, his Republican colleagues adjourned the House and proceeded to walk out of the chamber one by one. Then, as Hoyer chastised them for leaving, C-SPAN unceremoniously went silent and cut its coverage.

C-SPAN later explained that the decision to go silent was not the network’s own but, rather, the doing of someone working for House Speaker John Boehner.

Here’s what Hoyer told his colleagues before thing went silent:

As you walk off the floor, Mr. Speaker, you’re walking away, just as so many Republicans have walked away, from taxpayers, the unemployed, and very frankly as well, from those who will be seeking medical assistance from their doctors, 48 million senior citizens.

We regret, Mr. Speaker, that you have walked off the platform without addressing the issue of critical importance to this country, and that is the continuation of the middle class tax cut, the continuation of unemployment benefits for those at risk of losing them, and a continuation of the access to doctors for all those 48 million seniors who rely on them daily for help.

Have a look at what happened, via C-SPAN:

h/t Raw Story

Congress Votes No On Payroll Tax Cuts…But Yes On Winston Churchill Bust!

James Crugnale — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:37:46 +0000

In an implicit jab to President Obama, who returned a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill back to the UK in 2009 while the Oval Office was undergoing remodeling, Speaker of the House John Boehner is bringing the statue back to Congress.

According to ThinkProgress’s Alex Seitz-Wald, “the Churchill bill was approved via unanimous consent.”

While seemingly an innocuous gesture, Gawker’s Jim Newell calls the move the “climax of a nearly three-year right-wing crusade against Barack Obama, whom they believe got rid of a White House bust of Winston Churchill upon assuming office in a fit of uppity anti-colonial rage.”

And while House Republicans were able to give the thumbs up on art featuring the former British Prime Minister, they failed to approve the considerably more pressing matter of extending the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits.

Watch Boehner announce the new bust below and view his full resolution at TheHill.

(h/t TheHill)

Speaker Boehner: I Trust President Obama Even When We Have Tough Time Coming To An Agreement

Josh Feldman — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:11:40 +0000

Responding to charges made by President Obama last Sunday that the number one agenda for Congressional Republicans has been to oppose everything he favors, Speaker John Boehner denied this was the case, and in fact accused the president of being more unwilling to compromise on issues like entitlement spending than himself and other Republicans.

Boehner insisted there is merely a difference of opinion between the two sides, and the goal of working with the president is to set those differences aside and find any common ground to build on. Unlike his Senate counterpart Mitch McConnell, who declared earlier this year that making Obama a one-term president was “my single most important political goal,” Boehner explained to David Gregory that he is not focused on the next election and has told the president as much.

When asked by Gregory if he’s given up on Obama and is just content to wait for a Republican president to be elected, Boehner insisted he never gives up, and he won’t give up on getting things done with Obama to act in the best interests of the American people.

“We’ve had very good discussions. I do trust him. It’s not that we have a tough time coming to an agreement. But the president and I have a very cordial relationship. I hope it will continue.”

Gregory pointed to comments made by top Obama officials that Boehner walked away from an agreement with the president, but Boehner explained that it was the president who never said yes to a compromise he offered to increase revenues if they could take on entitlement reform. He acknowledged that voters are turned off by what they see from Congress because there are two things people never like to see getting made: laws and sausages. (The jury’s still out on which contains more pork.)

Watch the video below, courtesy of NBC:

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, Tina Brown Among GQ’s 2011 ‘Least Influential People Alive’ List

Frances Martel — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 14:18:22 +0000

The host at the core of MSNBC’s primetime lineup, the head of Newsweek and the President of the United States are all among the “Least Influential People Alive,” at least according to GQ, set to dole out the full list of dubious distinctions next month. The ego-crushing list also includes some random no-brainers like Tim Pawlenty and Tia and Tamara Mowry, but also seems to consider President Obama among those least relevant.

TV Newser and Forbes have gotten ahold of some of the write-ups for the awards, some more extensive than others. Ed Schultz lands on the list, it seems, simply for having a show and not much of a fanbase to the extent GQ is aware. “Do you watch “The Ed Show” on MSNBC? Of course you don’t. No one does,” they write snarkily. Tina Brown is awarded much less pity in her write-up, although by claiming that people now hate Newsweek, GQ somewhat gives away that she influences the way people think (about Newsweek):

Brown spent 2011 transforming Newsweek from a magazine no one reads into a magazine no one reads but everyone despises. That’s what happens when you star-f**k the corpse of Princess Diana by Photoshopping her at age 50 for your cover, then do a separate Photoshop of her holding an iPhone, and then create a fake Facebook page for her that includes wall posts from Deepak Chopra. Did you know Tina and Di were friends? They were! This Photoshopped image of them having lunch with Stevie Nicks is proof!

TV Newser has some more of the names on the list:

Also on the list: Tia and Tamera Mowry (#4). (Tamera married Fox News correspondent Adam Housleyover the summer); also Tina Brown (#17), John Boehner (#24) and Pres. Obama (#25). Topping the list former GOP candidate Tim Pawlenty.

While it’s hard to argue that Tim Pawlenty– who has been relegated to helping out in Tunisian elections after not being able to land a Fox News gig after running out of money for his presidential campaign in Iowa– isn’t completely irrelevant as anything more than a trivia answer in an “I Love the 2010s” nostalgia round, naming both the Speaker of the House and the President of the United States as people who have no impact on anyone’s lives feels like a bit of a stretch. In fact, both Republicans and Democrats would argue that those leaders have too much influence over the daily lives on Americans, not less.

The inclusion of Tia and Tamara Mowry also seems completely random, like a childhood grudge come to life. Why not Vanilla Ice, or one of the twins from that hair band Nelson? Or, for that matter, one-hit wonders like Steven Slater and “Golden-Voiced Homeless Man” Ted Williams (we remain with the hope that “Hipster Cop” is still an influential figure)? By opening up the list to people who were famous at any point in history for whatever reason, it makes the category far too big to judge in full. But it’s too early to judge on rationale, as the entire list (and why they were chosen) is set to debut in December– hopefully along with the metric for how they put this one together.

60 Minutes Investigates Preferential Favorable Stock Deals Benefiting Congress

Colby Hall — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:01:19 +0000

In the past week or so, the nation’s capital was all atwitter with the presence of Steve Kroft and his 60 Minutes crew, who were reported to be investigating the cozy relationships between members of congress and business leaders affected by legislation passed by congress itself. Tonight the segment aired, featuring some classic 60 Minutes style ambush questions — in a press room setting — in which Kroft challenged both Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner may have benefited from stock purchases based on non-public information they’d received.

While the segment may have lacked a “smoking gun,” it did present enough circumstantial evidence to effectively explain how our elected officials seem to gain so much wealth while serving in office. Kroft wisely avoided any partisan affiliation, instead going after the entire inside-the-beltway culture that are so commonly vilified in popular polls today.

Watch the segment below, courtesy of CBS News:

John Boehner: ‘I Get Along With The President Fine,’ But He’s Decided To ‘Shirk His Responsibilities’

Alex Alvarez — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 21:35:54 +0000

House Speaker John Boehner recently spoke with Newsmax editor David Patten about a variety of issues relating to the White House. Up first: The Obama administration’s role — or lack thereof — in the House’s probe into Solyndra’s bankruptcy.

Is that part of a pattern of obstruction?

“Well, they’re making the mistake that every White House makes,” said Boehner. “Slow down the development of the documents, decide they’re not going to comply with part of it, redact the documents to no end. And all they’re going to do is drag this out. We’re not going to turn our heads, and we’re not going to turn a blind eye to what appears to be some incredibly horrible decisions.”

Asked whether he’s able to get straight answers when he dials up the White House, Boehner replied that “by and large, I get along with the President fine.” Although he did admit the the news magazine — echoing statements he’d made to This Week — that things have been a bit “frosty” as of late:

The last few weeks it’s been a little frosty as the President decided to shirk his responsibilities to be a leader, and has gone out and decided to campaign full-time. It’s been a bit disappointing to me. And I haven’t talked with the President much during this period.

Have a look at the interview, courtesy of Newsmax.TV:

h/t Newsmax

Speaker Boehner: My Relationship With The President Has Been ‘Frosty’ Lately

Josh Feldman — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 19:07:07 +0000

On This Week today, Speaker of the House John Boehner admitted his personal and professional relationship with President Obama has gotten “frosty” recently, but both sides have been doing their best to find common ground and work together on the important issues.

Christiane Amanpour asked Boehner to weigh in on the current Republican presidential field, but the Speaker did not give his support to anyone in particular and promised he would throw his weight behind the eventual nominee. Amanpour tried to get Boehner to share his thoughts on Herman Cain’s sexual harassment controversy, but he quipped that he’s “not going there” and his focus is on getting work done in Congress.

Regarding his personal relationship with President Obama, Boehner explained it’s been relatively cordial, but somewhat less so in more recent weeks.

“The president and I have a pretty good relationship. You know, it’s been a little frosty here the last few weeks, but we’ve got a pretty good relationship… And I told the president, I’m the most straight-up, transparent person in this town. I would never mislead him, my word is my bond, Democrats and Republicans here in Washington understand that, and so we’ve got a pretty good relationship.”

Boehner said he understands that the American people want members of Congress and the president “to find common ground, and act on it.”

Watch the video below, courtesy of ABC:

Boehner: Grover Who?!

Talking Points Memo — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:56:09 +0000

A simple yes or no would have sufficed, but when House Speaker John Boehner was asked whether anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist was a positive influence on his caucus, he feigned ignorance.

“It’s not often I’m asked about some random person in America,” he said.

The context here is that Republicans are gridlocking the deficit Super Committee because they’ve pledged publicly never to raise taxes — a pledge Democrats say they’ll have to break to get bipartisan support for cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

If the Super Committee fails, and Congress can’t pass significant deficit reduction measures by the end of 2013, it’ll trigger an enforcement mechanism, cutting $1.2 billion across the board, mostly to Medicare provider payments and defense programs. In this context, 40 members of the House GOP caucus signaled that they’d be amenable to tax increases paired with cuts to entitlement programs.

Boehner’s deer-in-headlights moment may be a sign that the pressure to cut Norquist loose is getting to him. But, he’s not relenting — at least not publicly.

“Our conference is opposed to tax hikes, because we believe that tax hikes will hurt our economy and put Americans back to work,” Boehner said.

Note – this post was written by Brian Beutler for Talking Points Memo and appears here via a content sharing agreement with Mediaite.

Ready For Some Football: A Liberal Defends Hank Williams Jr.

Tommy Christopher — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:16:04 +0000

Earlier today, Mediaite Managing Editor Colby Hall gleefully reported that ESPN had pulled Hank Williams Jr.’s iconic “Are You Ready For Some Football” song from last night’s Monday Night Football broadcast, in response to remarks that Hank made, on Fox and Friends, in which he compared President Obama’s golf outing with Speaker John Boehner to an outing between Hitler and Netanyahu. Hank tried to explain himself in a statement that Mr. Hall cruelly (if accurately) mocked.

Let’s just break this down for a minute, shall we? I’m not going to defend Hank’s analogy, we’ve exhaustively gone over the extensive problems with Hitler analogies on these pages. The question here is, how mad should we be getting about this? I mean, Hank opens up the segment by hitting on Gretchen Carlson (later in the segment, someone mentions that he supported Sarah Palin, and Hank drawls, “Sure did,” and licks his lips. Jeez.), then, seconds after the Hitler comparison, followed up by calling Obama and Joe Biden “The Three Stooges.” Beating up on this guy for his political acumen is like yelling at a rock for…well, it’s like yelling at a rock. F&F even introduced him by saying “he knows a little about politics.”

And about that Hitler comparison: yes, Hank’s excuse was poorly-stated, but in essence, he’s saying that his intent was to invoke a pairing of enemies in which President Obama was the villain. Should we be surprised that Williams didn’t have a stack of literary enemy-pairings at the ready? Dracula and Van Helsing, Holmes and Moriarty, Tom and Jerry, even Jar-Jar Binks and any Star Wars fan all would have done the trick, but this is a guy who thinks Nuance is a brand of shampoo for gay dudes. The point is, we don’t pay Hank Williams Jr. for his political analyses, or his needle-threading historical perspective.

We pay him to get us Ready For Some Football!!! Now, I will confess that I can’t stand country music. There was about a year when, as a grade-schooler, I appreciated the wordplay and popular appeal of the form, but it wore thin. Sure, there are exceptions for the likes of Johnny Cash, or Merle Haggard, or exceptional practitioners of offshoots like Bluegrass (Earl Scruggs, for example, is the Jimi Hendrix of the banjo), but generally, that twangy steel guitar makes me want to ice-pick my own ears.

Consequently, when Monday Night Football first rolled out the “Are You Ready For Some Football” song, I was annoyed, I hated it. Unlike my learned colleague,, though, Hank’s rousing (if overproduced) theme song began to grow on me, especially once TV graphics caught up to the tune’s epic hype-ness. Eventually, I found myself thinking, “Dagnabbit, I am ready for some doggone football!”

But now, because Fox and Friends showed the poor judgment to ask Hank Williams Jr. about politics, the rest of us have to suffer? You don’t see anyone booking Mitt Romney to talk about country music, do you? Now, ESPN only compounds that error by pulling the iconic theme from the broadcast, hopefully not forever. I mean, have you seen the awful Sunday Night Football theme? Saturday Night Live did a parody of the endless, horrible thing, and I literally could not tell the difference between it and the real thing:

No matter how you feel about the MNF theme (I still love the familiar instrumental), or President Obama, or even country music, ESPN’s decision to pull the song is a mistake. I’ve said for a long time that, in most instances of controversial speech, the best response is more speech, not less. When people get upset over something somebody says, it’s almost always a better idea to talk more about it, not less. In Hank Williams’ case, I don’t know that much about him, but judging by the fact that the only other song of his that I know celebrates alcohol and tobacco use, I bet this isn’t anywhere near the worst thing he’s ever said.

If ESPN really gave a good crap about what Hank said, they could have devoted a few minutes of the broadcast to a discussion of it, and they could have even offered Hank the chance to fall on his steel guitar and abjectly apologize. What good, exactly, did pulling the song do? Is there an “Obama is Hitler” verse that we haven’t heard yet? (There might actually be one in that SNF theme. It’s so long, I’ve never listened to the whole goddam thing).

If anything, it only served to make people resent Hitler even more (he needs that like he needs a hole in the head) for screwing up their football game. That guy is seriously evil!

Suspending the Monday Night Football theme is not just a non sequitur, it’s also bad for America. Hank’s clumsy exercise of free speech is what this country is all about, but on another level, so is football. Thanks to Pete Rose and ‘roid-heads like Mark McGwire, it has replaced baseball as the national pastime, and despite the professional sports leagues’ spotty record, the sports themselves have always provided common ground, and a common language, that builds bridges between people with disparate beliefs and experiences. They unite us, and it is a mistake to contaminate them with the politics that divide us.

This whole thing reminds me of a story Thom Hartmann told me last week. He was interviewing Joe The Plumber sometime during his 13th minute of fame, and he spent the entire interview asking Joe questions about plumbing. Joe (who is, for the record, a really nice guy) happily answered them all. Fox and Friends should take a lesson from Hartmann, and ask their guests questions about things they know about, and ESPN should let Hank Williams Jr. do the job he was hired for. We are ready for some FOOTBALL!

This Exists: Speaker Boehner’s Office Sends Viagra-esque Mass Email With Subject Line ‘Gone Soft?’

Tommy Christopher — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:34:26 +0000

What do you do if you get an email from someone named “Boehner” with the subject line “Gone ‘Soft?’”

You reply, “Nope, strong like bull!” and put it in the “spam” folder with all of the other pitches for cheap Viagra substitutes. In perhaps the least self-aware move in the history of new media, Speaker John Boehner‘s office sent out a “Speaker Alert” email with just that subject line, pegged to remarks by President Obama in an interview last week.

Just as the jokes about the Obama campaign‘s email subject lines have begun to fade, up pops Boehner to trump them all in real life. Perhaps I’m being too hard on him, though, maybe it was a swell idea, and a taste of things to come. I hear his next email blast will be an endorsement of a former New Mexico governor entitled, “Johnson For America!”

Perhaps Boehner ought to concentrate on how to cure the Republican Party’s current electile dysfunction, before he worries about the rest of us.

Just so you don’t think I’m making this up, here’s the full text of Boehner’s email:(emphasis mine)

from Speaker Alert
to tommy@mediaite.com
date Sun, Oct 2, 2011 at 4:39 PM
subject Gone “Soft?”
mailed-by mail.house.gov

Gone “Soft?” Or Threatened By Tax Hikes, Excessive Regulations, & Reckless Spending?

October 2, 2011 | Posted by Speaker Boehner’s Press Office | Permalink
In the Weekly Republican Address, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) says President Obama “should call on the Democrat-led Senate” to follow the House and pass two bipartisan bills protecting jobs from excessive government regulations. While the president thinks America has lost its “competitive edge,” Rep. Griffith says these bills represent another “opportunity to widen our common ground and do whatever we can to get government out of the way so our economy can return to creating jobs.” Watch him here and read more about these jobs bills below:

Gone “Soft?” Or Threatened By Tax Hikes, Excessive Regulations, & Excessive Spending?

President Obama says America has gone “a little soft” and lost its “competitive edge.” But the reality is – as Speaker Boehner recently said – job creators are paralyzed by “the constant threat of new taxes, out-of-control spending, and unnecessary regulation from a government that is always micromanaging, meddling, and manipulating.”

In fact, when the president and his advisors talk about a proposal that would affect “millionaires” or “the rich,” what it really means is raising taxes on small businesses and private capital (which is essential to job creation) — tax hikes even he’s rejected in the past.

Economists, job creators, and fiscal watchdogs have panned the president’s tax hike on small businesses. Others say it is just a “political ploy,” not a “deficit reduction tool.”

As a consequence of the Democrats’ Dodd-Frank law you might soon be paying monthly debit card fees. Click here to see how Washington’s job-crushing policies are also leading to higher health care premiums and higher gas prices for families and small businesses.

Keeping the Pledge: Republicans Focused on Creating Jobs, Changing the Way Congress Works

Learn more about the bills (including H.R. 2250 and H.R. 2681) referenced by Rep. Griffith that would stop excessive regulations hurting job growth now and putting thousands more at risk.

Reps. Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Geoff Davis (R-KY) asked the White House to support H.R. 2681, which requires Washington to develop “more balanced and effective” rules that “protect public health and the environment without imposing unnecessary economic harm on American businesses and workers.” Read the letter here.

Speaker Boehner talked with Fox Business about the Republican jobs plan and the need to fix our tax code by simplifying and lowering rates, and eliminating loopholes and special carve-outs.

Opening resource-rich areas of Alaska to new energy production will create jobs and address high gas prices. Learn more here from a recent Natural Resources Committee hearing.

The House Clerk updated its website with better access to real-time information, reflecting the majority’s pledge to make Congress more open and accountable. Check it out here.

Don’t forget to watch the weekly Republican address by Rep. Griffith, and be sure to stay connected with the Office of the Speaker on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Speaker.gov. Thank you!

- Speaker Boehner’s Press Office

Tea Party Primary Challenger To Neil Cavuto: ‘John Boehner Is A Socialist’

Frances Martel — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:42:34 +0000

Who is David Lewis and what is he doing giving House Speaker John Boehner a primary challenge? While his origins are somewhat unclear, the Tea Party activist’s agenda was on full display today on Your World, where Lewis told host Neil Cavuto he considered Rep. Boehner a “socialist,” that the Tea Party movement was still “figuring out” whether it was socialist itself, and that Planned Parenthood is a “criminal syndicate.”

Cavuto introduced the candidate asking about his general platform, which mostly seems to consist of opposition to Planned Parenthood and, by proxy, Speaker Boehner for having voted to fund it. “It is an organization that murders babies,” he told Cavuto dramatically, which led Cavuto to attempt to change the subject to any other platform issues. That resulted in Lewis noting, “I am the Tea Party candidate… John Boehner is a socialist.” Cavuto, flabbergasted, attempted to dispute that, with Lewis clarifying, “I’m not calling names– it’s an economic policy.” He didn’t particularly elaborate how this economic policy was visible in Speaker Boehner’s views other than saying “here’s someone that refuses to phase out Social Security.”

The bizarre comments led Cavuto to question whether Lewis was an actual Tea Party-backed candidate (as the Tea Party has no central leadership, it is entirely possible to claim to be a member of the Tea Party without having the support of any one individual or group). “I think so,” Lewis replied, arguing that “the Tea Party is still trying to figure out whether they believe in socialist policies.” That last bit will probably come as a surprise to anyone else who associates themselves with the Tea Party, as their views on socialism are the only unifying tenet of the movement.

In any case, the interview continued awkwardly in this vein, with Cavuto trying to get answers out of Lewis that made for some coherent views and instead getting comments like “Planned Parenthood is a criminal syndicate.” One can’t help but notice a bit of regret, or at least confusion, on Cavuto’s end at Lewis being given a national platform.

The segment via Fox News below:

Rush Limbaugh: Obama’s ‘Pure Class Warfare’ Will Be The Destruction Of What Makes This A Great Country

Jon Bershad — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:12:22 +0000

Ok, everyone, are you sitting down? Is there anyone with heart condition reading? Are your shoes strong enough to withstand your socks literally being blown off your feet?

Is everyone ready? Ok, then. Here comes the bombshell; Rush Limbaugh didn’t like Barack Obama’s remarks this morning about his jobs bill.

I know!

God, maybe I should have linked to a waiver relieving Mediaite of culpability for any shock-induced injuries before writing that. I hope we don’t get sued.

Anyway, on his radio show today, Limbaugh gave his thoughts on the President’s speech and they weren’t good (Oh man, right when you’d put your socks back on!). He described it as the “architect of this disaster” giving nothing more than a “propaganda report” in which he lays out his plan and said that Obama was “boldly lying” in describing it as anything else than “class warfare.”

The true victim of this war, however? America as we know it!

“If [Obama] would get all of this actually passed, it would represent perhaps a fatal blow to the US private sector. Every tax increase he proposed and the justification for it scares me to death because it’s nothing more than the destruction of the engine that has defined and made this a great country. I don’t know how anyone could even argue about the fact that this is on purpose anymore. To boldly lie that it’s not class warfare? It is class warfare. Specifically and purposefully class warfare.”

Why would Obama “specifically and purposefully” ruin America? Well, Limbaugh explained that this is what happens when you elect someone who believes that America has hurt the rest of the world and deserves to be punished for it. Limbaugh went on to say that, were you to be able to read between the lines like he can, you can hear Obama come close to “admitting” these feelings and his contempt for the country. Ouch!

All so Obama can make sure Warren Buffett pays as much taxes as his secretary (which Limbaugh feels is also a lie).

Limbaugh went on to accuse Obama of “holding the economy hostage” and “running against John Boehner” since he doesn’t know who the 2012 GOP candidate will be.

So, Limbaugh thinks Obama is ruining America and that raising taxes on the rich is class warfare. Like I said at the top, shocking, shocking stuff.

Listen to the clip below:

(h/t Daily Rushbo)

Buffett Rule? NY Times Report Suggests Obama Plan To Ask More Of American Millionaires

Josh Feldman — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:29:18 +0000

One of the biggest topics on the Sunday talk shows today is guaranteed to be reports of a new tax plan being proposed by President Barack Obama tomorrow that would increase taxes on millionaires. The tentative proposal will be called, according to The New York Times, the “Buffett Rule,” after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who has been vocal in recent months about similar tax increases on the wealthy.

Last month, Buffett wrote an op-ed in the Times arguing that the wealthiest Americans have been “coddled” by Congress, and called for the government to “get serious about shared sacrifice.”

The Obama administration claims the new tax rate would only affect fewer than 450,000 Americans, but regardless of the figures, top Republicans have made it clear that tax increases of any kind are off the table.

In a speech on Thursday, Speaker John A. Boehner, Republican of Ohio, agreed with Mr. Obama that the deficit-reduction committee “can tackle tax reform, and it should,” to get rid of many tax breaks and allow for lower marginal rates.

“Tax increases, however, are not a viable option for the joint committee,” Mr. Boehner said. Instead, he emphasized that meeting the deficit-reduction target should come largely from overhauling benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

One of the goals of the president’s proposed tax increase is to have millionaires and billionaires paying at least the same percentage as middle-class Americans. The Times points out several reasons why wealthier Americans pay less taxes; one example was the cutoff point for the Social Security payoff tax.

And four years ago, when Buffett made similar statements, Harvard professor and current Mitt Romney advisor N. Gregory Mankiw argued that millionaires “typically pay the 35 percent marginal rate” and “much of [Buffett's] income came from corporate income that had been taxed before it was paid out to individuals.”

h/t The New York Times

As Republicans Approach The Ropes On Jobs Bill, Democrats Reach For The Towel

Tommy Christopher — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:02:49 +0000

Since delivering his powerful speech unveiling the American Jobs Act, President Obama has kept up the pressure on Congressional Republicans, and it appears to be working. Immediately following the speech, House leaders showed faint signs of openness to the measure, and Speaker John Boehner even left a tiny bit of wiggle room on tax loopholes in his speech yesterday. Right on cue, the President’s own party is riding in to rescue the GOP from the clever political trap he has laid for them.

As it stands, the GOP’s choice is to “Pass this bill” in its entirety, which would give the President a legislative victory, but would also give him complete ownership of the consequences of those policies, or to pass only the parts they like, which would give the President the chance to say, “Look, I tried. If they’d have passed my plan, it would’ve worked,” or to still claim credit if the half-measures succeed.

The President has kept the pressure on Congress in a series of speeches, and it appears to be working, at least a little bit. House Republicans like Boehner, Eric Cantor, and even Paul Ryan have sent signals that some kind of deal might be possible, a sign that, even if they’re just stalling so they can regroup, the President’s push has them back on their heels somewhat.

The President can always count on members of his own party to go all weak in the knees whenever there’s a crucial fight, and this time is no different. Several Democrats are already signaling opposition to President Obama’s plan, which completely undercuts the best leverage the President has.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (who campaigned using a bad promo for Top Shot) predictably led the white-flaggers, issuing a statement shortly after the speech saying he had “serious questions about the level of spending that President Obama proposed.

The New York Times has the rest of the lineup of Usual Suspects:

“I think the American people are very skeptical of big pieces of legislation,” Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said in an interview Wednesday, joining a growing chorus of Democrats who prefer an à la carte version of the bill despite White House resistance to that approach. “For that reason alone I think we should break it up.”

…“I have said for months that I am not supporting a repeal of tax cuts for the oil industry unless there are other industries that contribute,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana.

…Representative Heath Shuler, another North Carolina Democrat, said Congress should tame the deficit before approving new spending for job programs. “The most important thing is to get our fiscal house in order,” said Mr. Shuler, a leader of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition. “Then we can talk about other aspects of job creation.”

The reason President Obama’s push for this bill has been so effective is his framing of the measure as a choice between playing politics (aided by that “don’t give him a win” quote) and helping the country. While Democrats who oppose the bill may think they’re covering their own electoral asses, what they’re really doing is giving Republicans cover to continue to do nothing to grow jobs.

Pre-Speech Golf Talk? Speaker Boehner Tells Vice President Biden About His ‘Round Of A Decade’

Zara Golden — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:39:11 +0000

Who says we can’t all just get along?

House Speaker John Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden shared a nice moment moment while they waited on the President’s arrival last night, and because they didn’t know the mics were live, we are privy to their very real and pretty cute pre-show chatter. Apparently Boehner shot a pretty good round of golf during his vacation!

The two greeted one another with an actually pretty aggressive hug, and a laugh about Boehner’s barbarian status. ”We’ve got a heck of a lot of work to do,” began Biden before Boehner interrupted, eager to share news of his “round of the decade” with the ever-friendly VP. “That’s incredible!” exclaimed Biden, not seeming to mind the change of topic.

It is a little disconcerting to hear these two joking so casually about golf while Americans watching at home waited to hear what Obama’s speech might mean for them, but it’s probably a good sign that these two can get along.

Watch for yourself below:

(h/t TPM)

Eric Cantor Tips GOP Hand: Passing The Whole Jobs Plan ‘Is Not The Way To Get A Win’

Tommy Christopher — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:47:05 +0000

Following tonight’s presidential address to a joint session of Congress, there were reports of encouraging signs that Republicans might actually consider working with President Obama on his American Jobs Act. That hope lasted about as long as a Kajagoogoo retrospective, as Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va) appeared on Fox’s Hannity show to provide a reading between the lines of Speaker John Boehner‘s tepid written statement: Republicans will take the tax cuts, and block the rest.

Those who saw cooperative happy talk in Boehner’s statement about how “the proposals the president outlined tonight merit consideration” can forget about that, as Boehner telegraphed the GOP’s next punch by saying, “We hope he gives serious consideration to our ideas as well.”

For those who missed the meaning, Cantor tells Sean Hannity that he’s happy to pass the parts of the President’s plan that he already likes, but passing the whole plan “is not the way to get a win.”

As the President’s speech was starting, I needed a screengrab to post with our transcript of his prepared remarks. I couldn’t use the first one I took, but the visual now seems eerily prophetic (if not all that surprising):

Here’s the clip of Cantor’s appearance, from Fox News’ Hannity show:

Jon Stewart Challenges Right-Wing Hypocrisy On Hoffa Tea Party Rhetoric

Frances Martel — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:37:19 +0000

After a two-week long vacation in which, among other things, the East Coast experienced an earthquake and hurricane, Jon Stewart returned to a surplus of mockable news, paramount among these Teamsters head James Hoffa‘s allegedly violent rhetoric against the Tea Party. Stewart challenged the outrage with clips of many on the right (and from Fox News) using similar war metaphors, and gave voice to his own with a ventriloquist act.

Stewart played the now-infamous clip, editorializing a bit on what Hoffa had to say in his classic Jersey accent. He then turned to the reaction– livid outrage– which he found strange given the tenor of rhetoric on the right. After mocking Gretchen Carlson‘s periwinkle getup by quipped, “Gretchen Carlson was so upset she left her prom early,” he then turned to comments by Rep. Allen West, which used vivid imagery involving using bayonets (?) on the left.

“Most rally techniques are lame,” Stewart noted, “without hypothetical metaphorical excitements,” he concluded, politicians are only left with a few tricks. By way of example, he offered noted fiery speaker… Sen. John Kerry, trying to rally up the crowd by repeating “help is on the way” over and over. It was not particularly successful. For even more contrast, Stewart concluded with a puppet act. Yes, a puppet act.

The segment via Comedy Central below:

The Myth That Speaker Boehner’s Refusal Has Precedent In Ronald Reagan/Tip O’Neill Spat

Tommy Christopher — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:21:31 +0000

Speaker John Boehner‘s public refusal to allow President Obama to address a joint session of Congress Wednesday has touched off a media maelstrom that the White House has decried publicly (while privately fueling it), and the mainstream media has cast Boehner’s actions as a sign of Obama administration dysfunction. That narrative is aided by an emerging myth, that then-House Speaker Tip O’Neill once “Boehnered” Ronald Reagan, so Boehner’s insult to the presidency was no big deal.

On the heels of Boehner’s refusal, some media outlets reported that, according to the House and Senate historians, such an action was without precedent. However, the media was quick to try and cover its own ass by promoting the right-wing myth that Democratic Speaker Tip O’Neill had once done the same thing to Ronald Reagan. As a matter of fact, though, the Reagan/O’Neill spat was not only superficially different, but on a deeper level, it was the exact opposite. Reagan didn’t ask to address a joint session of Congress, he asked to address the House only (itself an action with little, if any, precedent), in an effort to jawbone them into supporting aid to the Contras in Nicaragua he already had the votes in the Senate). In refusing Reagan’s request, O’Neill actually offered the President a joint session. The President declined, his point made, and delivered his address from the Oval Office. Reagan got what he wanted (that time), but in case the media fails to remind you, check out how that whole thing turned out. Just for fun, contrast that with how things go when President Obama aids rebels.

Beyond that superficial, yet important, difference, there’s also the fact that O’Neill had already conveyed to President Reagan’s Chief of Staff, Donald Regan, that such a request would be denied, prior to Reagan’s public request. It was President Reagan who, in this instance, attempted to score political points by publicly airing a private negotiation. For what it’s worth, good for him. While the Executive and Legislature are co-equal branches of government, the President and the Speaker of the House are not equals, and Reagan’s maneuver, precedented or not, fell within the acceptable boundaries of governing politics.

By contrast, Boehner had every opportunity to make known his objection to the Wednesday date in private, before the President’s request was made public, and he declined to do so because he saw an opportunity to publicly put the President in his place. Even if you grant that President Obama’s request was purely motivated by a desire to overshadow Wednesday night’s Republican debate (a dubious claim, since such synchronicity presented the GOP with as much an opportunity as a disadvantage), and even if it was presented as more of a demand than a request, the respect accorded every previous President demanded that Boehner make his objection know in private first. As I said before, the President and the Speaker of the House are not equals, but Boehner seems to have inverted the relationship in his mind, and clearly sees President Obama as his inferior.

Some have also sought to muddy the issue of disrespect for the office by pointing out all the mean things people said about George W. Bush, but that’s a completely separate issue, with its own set of boundaries. When it came to respecting the office, Congress, the Democrats included (and even especially), heeded Bush’s every request for a “jump” by saying, “How high?”

In fact, if Bush had asked to deliver an address before a joint session of Congress on the same night as a Democratic debate, I’m quite confident the Democrats would have offered to move their debate to Saturday morning, and offered to cook Bush breakfast, for good measure.

MSNBC’s Al Sharpton: ‘The White House Is Furious With John Boehner’

Josh Feldman — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:54:29 +0000

Newly-minted MSNBC host Al Sharpton updated viewers on the latest details from Speechgate 2011: The Incredible One-Day Saga Of A Minor Scheduling Issue, and wondered if “John Boehner [has] been the problem all along” in dealings between the White House and House Republicans, and not necessarily the tea party members of Congress.

Sharpton highlighted a POLITICO story from yesterday reporting that White House officials were “furious” with Boehner’s demand that President Obama delay his jobs speech. He contrasted this response from the White House’s attitude a few months ago, when they were trying to find common ground with Boehner and singling out tea partiers in Congress for their unwillingness to compromise. An anonymous White House official provided this quote:

“At first, I didn’t think it was Boehner, but his caucus. But maybe not. Maybe it is him.”

Ryan Grim, HuffPo’s Washington bureau chief, thought “a blind quote sent to a Washington publication” was not enough pushback from the White House if they wanted to send a message to the Speaker, and found it odd that Republicans potentially opposed to the President’s jobs plan would not even want to hear him out first.

Sharpton continued to flout the conventional wisdom that Boehner is a moderate Republican leader, pointing out that he pushed Paul Ryan‘s budget plan through the House and forced the chamber to cancel the initial vote on the debt ceiling bill.

“If you look at the track record of John Boehner, he really gives one persona, but the track record is much different than the persona.”

Sharpton and Grim seemed to agree that the president shouldn’t bother negotiating with Boehner, with Grim pointing out the president’s seeming frustration with the strong anti-tax beliefs of almost the entire Republican party. Sharpton thought it would be nice if Congress could show more “bipartisanism,” but it would be hard for the president to deal with “irrational” members of Congress.

Newt Gingrich On Obama’s Jobs Speech: ‘There’s Something Sad About A President This Ineffective’

Alex Alvarez — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:23:12 +0000

On America’s Newsroom this morning, GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich weighed in on President Barack Obama‘s … recent scheduling issues… and the President’s decision to ultimately reschedule his jobs speech following a push from House Speaker John Boehner and other prominent Republicans.

Gingrich did take care to note that, as a Packers fan, the Thursday night scheduling still isn’t ideal for him, but that he’ll make sure to watch during commercial breaks. He continued:

You know, there’s something sad about a president this ineffective. He sent out an email last night to his supporters that I got a copy of, titled “Frustrated.” And he explained how frustrated he was. And I thought, “there are fourteen million unemployed Americans, there are another eleven million who are either underemployed or dropped out of the work force. And I wish he had some ability to reach beyond himself and think about how frustrated 25 million Americans are with this lack of leadership and lack of effectiveness.

He went on to opine that one of the problems at play here is that “some people” view the position of president as some sort of “kingship,” ignoring the goals of the American Revolution. “He’s been President for almost three years,” said Gingrich. “You’d think he’d learn.”

Check out the video, courtesy of Fox News: