Boehner Tantrum Backfires As Pressure Grows On Republicans After Amtrak Wreck

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Speaker of the House John Boehner tried to avoid a question about the role that Republican budget cuts played in the deadly Philadelphia Amtrak derailment by yelling at a reporter, but all Boehner accomplished was increasing the pressure on Republicans.

Rep. Boehner (R-OH) responded to a reporter who tried to ask about the role of Republican budget cuts by saying, “Are you really going to ask such a stupid question? Listen, you know, they started this yesterday, it’s all about funding; it’s all about funding. Well, obviously it’s not about funding. The train was going twice the speed limit. Adequate funds are there; no money’s been cut from rail safety and the House passed a bill earlier this spring to reauthorize Amtrak, and authorize a lot of these programs. And it’s hard for me to imagine that people take the bait on some of the nonsense that gets spewed around here.”

It appears that Boehner made things worse for Republicans with his outburst.

Sen. Chuck Schumer basically called out Boehner for lying, “Speaker Boehner’s comments are patently false. Experts have made clear that positive train control [technology] could have prevented the tragedy in Philadelphia. It is simply a fact that insufficient funding for Amtrak has delayed the installation of PTC, and to deny a connection between the accident and underfunding Amtrak is to deny reality.”

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) replied to Boehner’s attempt to disconnect the facts, “You could certainly say that if you had positive train control, this wouldn’t have happened, and if you had enough funding … you would have put in positive training control already. You can certainly connect those two.”

By trying to distract from reality, John Boehner has increased the pressure on Republicans. Speaker Boehner’s behavior has raised more questions. If funding wasn’t an issue, why did the Speaker blow a gasket? Boehner’s blow up has put Republicans in a real bind. Instead of making the story go away, John Boehner has made things a whole lot worse.

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