March 5th, 2012
George Will made quite a few waves yesterday.
Via TPM:
"Conservative columnist George Will on Sunday tore into top Republicans for their tepid response to Rush Limbaugh's smear of Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, declaring that the GOP is "afraid" of the right-wing radio host.
"It would've been nice if they had shared that with the larger public, the Republican leaders," Will said on ABC's This Week. "Instead, Mr. Boehner comes out and says, Rush's language was inappropriate. Using a salad fork for your entree, that's inappropriate. Not this stuff. I mean, and Rick Santorum says well, what he says was absurd, but an entertainer is allowed to be absurd. No. It is the responsibility of conservatives to police the right in its excesses, just as the liberals unfailingly fail to police the excesses in their own side. And it was depressing, because what it indicates is that the Republican leaders are afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb Iran, but they're afraid of Rush Limbaugh." EMPHASES MINE
This statement, coming on the heels of Will's message to the GOP that they really ought to just give up on retaking the White House, prompted a predictably ridiculous response from Fox and Friends this morning. In a piece of stagecraft worthy of Mel Brooks, the Fox stooges gave Donald Trump the chance to attack the conservative stalwart.
Nando Di Fino writes for Mediaite:
"I think he’s a totally overrated fool," Trump said. "I think this guy is so overrated. I don’t think he’s very smart. He looks smart with the little glasses and the hair slicked to the side."
"You’ve criticized him before on this show," host Gretchen Carlson said, "You’re not holding back on what you think about him today."
"He’s a hack," Trump said. "He’s a hack. And how he can say that is just incredible."
I'm not sure how they are going to top this one. Perhaps they can have Chuck Norris or Ted Nugent attack Thomas Sowell the next time he writes something reasonable.
Here's the video
Showing posts with label boehner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boehner. Show all posts
Monday, March 5, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
About Boehner Cutting The C-Span Feed...
Dec 22nd, 2011
Ann Telnaes of the WaPo gives her take on the Speaker shutting off the people's channel because it was inconveniencing him.
Ann Telnaes of the WaPo gives her take on the Speaker shutting off the people's channel because it was inconveniencing him.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The Entire Text Of Tonight's Speech
Sept. 8th, 2011
Damn straight. Give 'Em Hell Barry came back tonight.
"Tonight we meet at an urgent time for our country. We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless, and a political crisis that has made things worse.
This past week, reporters have been asking "What will this speech mean for the President? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls, and the next election?"
Damn straight. Give 'Em Hell Barry came back tonight.
This past week, reporters have been asking "What will this speech mean for the President? What will it mean for Congress? How will it affect their polls, and the next election?"
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Ezra Klein On Future Revenues
August 2nd, 2011
Ezra notes that there are still many options available to raise revenue... and that Speaker Boehner still doesn't seem to understand how government works:
"When Speaker John Boehner was trying to reassure his members that the debt deal wouldn’t lead to tax hikes, he fell back on an unexpectedly technical — and incorrect — argument. The deal, he said, “requires baseline to be current law, effectively making it impossible for Joint Committee to increase taxes.” That’s not just wrong. It’s wrong in a way that gets at a fundamental fact about the relationship between Boehner and the two groups who judge his work:
his members, and the Congressional Budget Office."
Ezra notes that there are still many options available to raise revenue... and that Speaker Boehner still doesn't seem to understand how government works:
his members, and the Congressional Budget Office."
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Ridiculous Spin
July 28th, 2011
Yes, Speaker of the House Boehner is twisting in the wind. Yes, it is because of the intransigence of the so-called Tea Party Freshmen. This is the result of two different and very distinct phenomena. First, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is very nearly and almost disastrously incompetent. Face it. He is bad at his job. He simply can't lead from his leadership position. Second, it the latest example of a radical minority, one whose views are utterly at odds with three quarters of the population on specific policy matters, preventing the government from functioning.
Enter the delusion that now constitutes the conservative echo chamber. The Drudge headline linking to the article also linked above is as follows.
In the eyes of the core of what I call the "saboteur right wing," this failure to govern is not only being regarded as a positive... it is affirming their fantasy that they run the show.
Yes, Speaker of the House Boehner is twisting in the wind. Yes, it is because of the intransigence of the so-called Tea Party Freshmen. This is the result of two different and very distinct phenomena. First, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is very nearly and almost disastrously incompetent. Face it. He is bad at his job. He simply can't lead from his leadership position. Second, it the latest example of a radical minority, one whose views are utterly at odds with three quarters of the population on specific policy matters, preventing the government from functioning.
Enter the delusion that now constitutes the conservative echo chamber. The Drudge headline linking to the article also linked above is as follows.
 |
| Drudge Report screenshot taken at 8:45pm CST |
A BIG Shift
July 28th, 2011
Robert Greenstein of the CBPP notes a very radical departure in both the Boehner debt bill and the absurd "Cut, Cap and Balance."
"For 26 years, all budget legislation that would trigger across-the-board cuts if Congress fails to meet a fiscal target has exempted the basic low-income (or “means-tested”) entitlement programs from those cuts. The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings laws of 1985 and 1990, the deficit reduction agreement of 1990, and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 — all bipartisan pieces of legislation — included that exemption. So did last year’s “pay-as-you-go” law, which requires Congress to offset the cost of new tax cuts or increases in entitlement programs so they don’t increase the deficit. Congress has never enacted a law with an across-the-board cut mechanism that subjects core assistance for the poor to these cuts.
But in the last few weeks, House Republicans have advanced two major pieces of legislation that would do just that. Both the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act,” which the House passed last week, and the new Boehner debt-ceiling proposal drop all of the low-income exemptions that have been part of every previous across-the-board cut mechanism since 1985.
And, in an exercise in political cynicism, both of these bills add an exemption — for payments to Medicare providers – that was not part of the previous laws. This enables the bill’s authors to claim they are protecting Medicare, even as they subject those living below the poverty line to the risk of automatic cuts that would push them even deeper into poverty. (To be sure, these two measures do not protect Medicare — or Social Security — from being cut by Congress to meet the extremely austere budget targets the bills erect; they only protect those programs from being cut automatically if the targets are not adhered to.)"
Robert Greenstein of the CBPP notes a very radical departure in both the Boehner debt bill and the absurd "Cut, Cap and Balance."
"For 26 years, all budget legislation that would trigger across-the-board cuts if Congress fails to meet a fiscal target has exempted the basic low-income (or “means-tested”) entitlement programs from those cuts. The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings laws of 1985 and 1990, the deficit reduction agreement of 1990, and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 — all bipartisan pieces of legislation — included that exemption. So did last year’s “pay-as-you-go” law, which requires Congress to offset the cost of new tax cuts or increases in entitlement programs so they don’t increase the deficit. Congress has never enacted a law with an across-the-board cut mechanism that subjects core assistance for the poor to these cuts.
But in the last few weeks, House Republicans have advanced two major pieces of legislation that would do just that. Both the “Cut, Cap, and Balance Act,” which the House passed last week, and the new Boehner debt-ceiling proposal drop all of the low-income exemptions that have been part of every previous across-the-board cut mechanism since 1985.
And, in an exercise in political cynicism, both of these bills add an exemption — for payments to Medicare providers – that was not part of the previous laws. This enables the bill’s authors to claim they are protecting Medicare, even as they subject those living below the poverty line to the risk of automatic cuts that would push them even deeper into poverty. (To be sure, these two measures do not protect Medicare — or Social Security — from being cut by Congress to meet the extremely austere budget targets the bills erect; they only protect those programs from being cut automatically if the targets are not adhered to.)"
They Did What?
July 28th, 2011
We couldn't make this up if we tried.
As anyone who has been within a quarter mile of a television or the internet in the last month by now knows, the whole of American representative governance has ground to a halt over raising the debt ceiling. Today was supposed to the big day for Speaker Boehner's bill. It may be dead on arrival in the Senate, but that's only if it ever gets there. Here's what happened via WaPo:
"The House was nearing the end of its debate on the legislation when Republicans suddenly shifted gears. They instead moved to a bill renaming a post office in Peoria, Ill." EMPHASIS OURS
"GOP leaders have been laboring to line up the 216 votes the debt bill would need to pass the House, and they have encountered opposition from some conservatives. There are 240 Republicans in the House."
We couldn't make this up if we tried.
"The House was nearing the end of its debate on the legislation when Republicans suddenly shifted gears. They instead moved to a bill renaming a post office in Peoria, Ill." EMPHASIS OURS
"GOP leaders have been laboring to line up the 216 votes the debt bill would need to pass the House, and they have encountered opposition from some conservatives. There are 240 Republicans in the House."
Rep. Boehner may well be the most incapable Speaker of the House in generations.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tweet Of The Year Nominee
July 26th, 2011
The odds on favorite so far. Kudos to Jill Jackson. Still utterly un-refuted by the Boehner camp.
The odds on favorite so far. Kudos to Jill Jackson. Still utterly un-refuted by the Boehner camp.
Flashback...
July 26th, 2011
The GOP refusal to even repeat the word compromise (much less engage in it in recent memory) should not be a surprise. Thanks to Teagan Goddard over at Political Wire for this little reminder. BTW, this was the interview where Boehner started the waterworks over the "children" while planning to to do everything in his power to make sure the next generation of children has no teeth, can't read, thinks New Hampshire is the Capital of Kentucky, dinosaurs are Jesus-Lizards and that a living wage is some kind of Communist conspiracy to sap our fluids.
Psst... Republicans... that last sentence is called "political satire," (ie. humorous ideological hyperbole) not libel.
"J. BOEHNER: We have to govern. That's what we were elected to do.
STAHL: But governing means a -- compromising.
J. BOEHNER: It means working together. It means find...
STAHL: It also means compromising.
J. BOEHNER: It means finding common ground.
STAHL: OK, is that compromising?
J. BOEHNER: I made clear I am not going to compromise on -- on my principles, nor am I going to compromise...
STAHL: What are you saying?
J. BOEHNER: ... the will of the American people.
STAHL: And you're saying I want common ground, but I'm not going to compromise. I don't understand that. I really don't.
J. BOEHNER: When you say the -- when you say the word "compromise"...
STAHL: Yeah?
J. BOEHNER: ... a lot of Americans look up and go, "Uh-oh, they're going to sell me out." And so finding common ground I think makes more sense."
And here you go...
The GOP refusal to even repeat the word compromise (much less engage in it in recent memory) should not be a surprise. Thanks to Teagan Goddard over at Political Wire for this little reminder. BTW, this was the interview where Boehner started the waterworks over the "children" while planning to to do everything in his power to make sure the next generation of children has no teeth, can't read, thinks New Hampshire is the Capital of Kentucky, dinosaurs are Jesus-Lizards and that a living wage is some kind of Communist conspiracy to sap our fluids.
Psst... Republicans... that last sentence is called "political satire," (ie. humorous ideological hyperbole) not libel.
"J. BOEHNER: We have to govern. That's what we were elected to do.
STAHL: But governing means a -- compromising.
J. BOEHNER: It means working together. It means find...
STAHL: It also means compromising.
J. BOEHNER: It means finding common ground.
STAHL: OK, is that compromising?
J. BOEHNER: I made clear I am not going to compromise on -- on my principles, nor am I going to compromise...
STAHL: What are you saying?
J. BOEHNER: ... the will of the American people.
STAHL: And you're saying I want common ground, but I'm not going to compromise. I don't understand that. I really don't.
J. BOEHNER: When you say the -- when you say the word "compromise"...
STAHL: Yeah?
J. BOEHNER: ... a lot of Americans look up and go, "Uh-oh, they're going to sell me out." And so finding common ground I think makes more sense."
Thank you to the Simpsons for illustrating Rep. John Boehner's entire manipulative histrionic meltdown.
And here you go...
Thursday, May 19, 2011
That's Not What I Meant
May 19th, 2011
When I said, "four more years! Four more years!" I was not referring to this. From TPM:
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have agreed to a deal on a four-year extension of the Patriot Act, the Associated Press reports.
Officials in both parties told the AP that the deal between Reid and Boehner calls for a quick vote. Closure on the motion to proceed on the Patriot Act will take place at 5 p.m. on Monday, Reid said on the floor of the Senate late Thursday. "The idea is to pass the extension with as little debate as possible to avoid a protracted and familiar argument over the expanded power the law gives to the government," the AP reported."
I noted the Left's version of Obama Derangement Syndrome the other day which provoked an astonishing level of vitriol from some readers. If the progressive base needs a villain, I repeat my position from late last year that they should be hammering Reid instead.
When I said, "four more years! Four more years!" I was not referring to this. From TPM:
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have agreed to a deal on a four-year extension of the Patriot Act, the Associated Press reports.
Officials in both parties told the AP that the deal between Reid and Boehner calls for a quick vote. Closure on the motion to proceed on the Patriot Act will take place at 5 p.m. on Monday, Reid said on the floor of the Senate late Thursday. "The idea is to pass the extension with as little debate as possible to avoid a protracted and familiar argument over the expanded power the law gives to the government," the AP reported."
I noted the Left's version of Obama Derangement Syndrome the other day which provoked an astonishing level of vitriol from some readers. If the progressive base needs a villain, I repeat my position from late last year that they should be hammering Reid instead.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
It Would Be Funny... But...
Jan 7th, 2011
If you haven't yet read Matt Taibbi's most recent column on Speaker John Boehner, you really must. Here's one of the choice anecdotes:
"Of all the longtime Republican Beltway hacks who are now scrambling to find ways to throw enough sunshine on the Tea Party mob to keep their jobs, Boehner has been the most hilariously transparent. In yet another scene straight out of a screwball comedy — maybe it was an earlyhommage to the now-departed Leslie Nielsen — Boehner in November 2009 stood up in front of a crowd of Tea Partiers who had gathered to protest the upcoming Obamacare vote, and tried to stroke his audience by holding up a copy of the Constitution. Professing his love for the sacred document, Boehner pledged to "stand here with our Founding Fathers, who wrote in the preamble: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident.'" The crowd was silent. Boehner had confused the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence."
At this juncture, I can't tell if he's more drunk than stupid or simply an ignorant drunk.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Crying Boehner, ctd...
Dec 20th, 2010
Writing for The L.A. Times, Tom Lutz hammers Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) on his continued water works:
"He does, I believe, worry about the children, and yet his entire political philosophy is devoted to limiting the federal government's ability to help them. He has voted against providing health insurance for children (many times), against student aid, against unemployment benefits, against equal pay, against food safety, against money for teachers, against raising the minimum wage, against tobacco education, mine safety, alternative energy, pollution control, whistle-blower protection, science and technology research. If he were making his decisions based on what government programs might help today's schoolchildren reach their dreams, like the Kennedy- and Johnson-era programs that helped him, his voting record would be very different. It is a deep enough contradiction to make him weep for the future."
Thursday, December 16, 2010
McConnell Is Crying, Too?
Dec 16th, 2010
This is getting just plain weird.
What the hell happened to the party of supposedly rugged manliness? Remember when the Republican brand deliberately exulted in what N.O.W. called out as "Macho Swagger?"
Well, we are through the looking glass, kids. The increasingly blubbering Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) has some company. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) couldn't hold back the waterworks today, as is shown in the video below. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, no less, the affairs of state simply became too much to bear!
I have to ask the obvious questions; Didn't we just have an election cycle where Sharon Angle scored points by telling harry Harry Reid to "man up?" Didn't we just suffer through Christine O'Donnell telling her opponent to put on his "man pants?" Now, just because these two nut-jobs didn't achieve ballot victory, I don't think there is reason to believe that what the conservative base craves is a bunch of whining little cry-babies. Get a grip! Really. You're starting to make a lot of us kind of uncomfortable.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Dear Mr Boehner
Nov 18th, 2010
The Hand is pleased to welcome a new contributor.
by Nicole Zimmerer
The Hand is pleased to welcome a new contributor.
by Nicole Zimmerer
Really?
you are going to waste my tax dollars on proving global warming wrong?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Truth About The Republican Opposition
Oct. 3rd, 2010
by F. Grey Parker
Rep. John Boehner said something stunning a week ago that deserves the attention of every citizen who intends to vote this November. It defines the entirety of the republican contribution to the American experiment in these times. Chris Wallace questioned Mr. Boehner in the sympathetic confines of the FOXNews studios about the GOP Pledge's lack of specific policy proposals. The response was profoundly informative. The emphases are mine:
Chris Wallace looked amazed.
"Let’s not get to the potential solutions."
Did you, like, really say that?
"Let’s not get to the potential solutions."
Shit. He did.
"Let’s not get to the potential solutions."
Dude, shut up.
"Let’s not get to the potential solutions."
Okay. That's it. You are a dumbass.
When the do-nothing opposition casually states that their vision for our troubled nation's future is to continue to do nothing, they really ought not be emboldened this November by the angry electorate's sour grapes.
by F. Grey Parker
Rep. John Boehner said something stunning a week ago that deserves the attention of every citizen who intends to vote this November. It defines the entirety of the republican contribution to the American experiment in these times. Chris Wallace questioned Mr. Boehner in the sympathetic confines of the FOXNews studios about the GOP Pledge's lack of specific policy proposals. The response was profoundly informative. The emphases are mine:
"BOEHNER: Chris, this is what happens here in washington. When you start down that path, you just invite all kind of problems. I know. I've been there. I think we need to do this in a more systemic way and have this conversation first. Let's not get to the potential solutions. Let's make sure americans understand how big the problem is. Then we can talk about possible solutions and then work ourselves into those solutions that are doable."
We have created a "Sunday Picture Show" to drive home the moment.
When the do-nothing opposition casually states that their vision for our troubled nation's future is to continue to do nothing, they really ought not be emboldened this November by the angry electorate's sour grapes.
Friday, March 26, 2010
I Read the Bill... And The Bill... And The Fix
March 26, 2010
by F. Grey Parker
Several weeks ago, I began my own personal endgame with Health Care Reform. For months it seemed, the growing mantra of the opposition had become the argument that nobody understood the legislation, just as it had been with 2009's stimulus package against which Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) had so famously boomed. We just didn't get it. It didn't matter whether we were discussing the House Bill, the Senate Bill or the Fix. The leadership of the opposition kept telling us that we were against it and if we weren't, well, then we just didn't understand it. These arguments didn't sit right with me from the beginning. There was something about that declaration, so insistently parochial, that was patently offensive to me.
by F. Grey Parker
Several weeks ago, I began my own personal endgame with Health Care Reform. For months it seemed, the growing mantra of the opposition had become the argument that nobody understood the legislation, just as it had been with 2009's stimulus package against which Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) had so famously boomed. We just didn't get it. It didn't matter whether we were discussing the House Bill, the Senate Bill or the Fix. The leadership of the opposition kept telling us that we were against it and if we weren't, well, then we just didn't understand it. These arguments didn't sit right with me from the beginning. There was something about that declaration, so insistently parochial, that was patently offensive to me.
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