At his press conference today, Speaker of the House John Boehner asked Democrats for help passing his bill to keep the government open, and then he had the nerve to bash President Obama.
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Speaker Boehner first said that he expected Democrats to vote for his funding bill that would keep the government open, “”I expect it will have bipartisan support to pass the omnibus appropriation bill.”
Later he was asked about the desire among some members of his caucus to cancel President Obama’s State Of The Union address, “The more the president talks about his ideas, the more unpopular he becomes. Why would I want to deprive him of that opportunity?”
Speaker Boehner admitted that his bill to keep the government open won’t pass without Democratic votes, but in the same press conference he mocked the leader of the party that the success of his bill depends on.
Many in the media are accurately reporting that Obama and Boehner don’t have a good relationship, but what they are leaving out is why the relationship is so bad. The bad times started when Boehner backed out of a grand bargain deal to reduce the debt. Speaker Boehner didn’t only back out on his agreement with the president. John Boehner ducked the president’s phone calls for a day, and wouldn’t update the Commander in Chief on what was going on.
Boehner’s repeated failures to deliver on his promises made it clear to Democrats that his word was meaningless and that the Speaker of the House could not be trusted.
It is the height of arrogance for John Boehner to assume that Democrats will rescue him while he insults the president. Boehner’s lack of gratitude and honesty are two of the reasons why Democrats should step aside and offer no assistance to the Speaker.
John Boehner deserves to sink beneath the weight of the dysfunction that he has created. House Democrats would be smart to step aside and let Boehner self-destruct.
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
