Boehner Puts His Beer Goggles on and Tells Obama to Get Serious on Fiscal Cliff

Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 01:52 am

Somebody better keep John Boehner away from the eggnog, as the House Speaker desperately tried to blame the president by telling him to get serious about the fiscal cliff.

Here is the video:

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Boehner said,

Republicans continue to work towards avoiding the fiscal cliff. The president’s offer of $1.3 trillion in revenues and $850 billion in spending reductions fails to meet the test that the president promised the American people. A balanced approach. And I hope the president will get serious soon about providing and working with us on a balanced approach.

Tomorrow, the House will pass to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American, 99.81% of the American people. Then the president will have a decision to make. He can call on Senate Democrats to pass that bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history.

Boehner left out the third possibility. Obama made a proposal that offered real compromise, is waiting for Republicans to reject it, and then get everything he wants when the country goes off the fiscal cliff. Speaker Boehner has been telling his caucus since the end of the election that they will be blamed if the country goes over the cliff, so his tough talk today is especially meaningless.

Rep. Boehner’s words were the empty posturings of a desperate man. During his press conference today, President Obama stressed what a reasonable offer he made to the Republicans. This lends credibility to the suspicion that Obama’s proposal was nothing more than political gamesmanship designed to help Republicans paint themselves into a corner.

Speaker Boehner must have had his beer goggles on if he thinks his “Plan B” looks like a serious solution in any way, shape, or form.

It takes a lot of nerve, or maybe spiked eggnog, for John Boehner to tell Obama to “get serious” when his House of Representatives is about to pass a bill that contains no spending cuts.

Boehner’s joke of a plan isn’t fooling anybody, and his empty bluster is an insult to the intelligence of the American people.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association