Thursday, March 05, 2009

Boehner's Boner, IOCIYAR

The Minority Leader in the House is a Republican from Ohio named John Boehner, he is what he is. He wrote an OpEd for the WaPo called Democrats' Diversionary Tactics. Boehner isn't happy to be the "Party of No," with "Rush the Leadership." You should be able to take his first paragraph seriously if you're to take any of it seriously.
And in a carefully calculated campaign, operatives and allies of the Obama administration are seeking to divert attention toward radio host Rush Limbaugh, and away from a debate about our alternative solutions on the economy and the irresponsible spending binge they are presiding over. This diversionary tactic will not create a single job or help a single family struggling in today's economic crisis. And that is where our focus should be.

Um, John we had a debate about jobs and stimulus, you bragged up your unity in voting Nay. You were presented a program of nearly 40% of spending in tax cuts. Now, admittedly, the beneficiaries were not your usual suspects who benefited from 7 years of increasing and accelerating income disparity. The numbers are clear and unassailable, compiled by the government your Party controlled.
Markets are plunging, businesses are cutting jobs and families are growing more anxious every day. Moments like this demand the kind of cooperation and new way of doing business that Obama has promised. Instead, those around him are taking to the airwaves and the pages of our nation's newspapers to carry out a campaign intended to change the subject and divert attention from what matters most: finding a way to work together to get our economy moving again.

Mr Boehner you had a chance to participate in the stimulus bill, what you offered was your same old tax cut and attacks based on fictitious items and fictitious reports. You voted 100$ no and used the same words and tactics a blowhard radio host used. You followed his lead, your members lick his boots if they are unfortunate enough to have asserted he is not the leader of your party.

You stood on the floor of the People's House and lied and lied using the words of a two bit radio host. I don't get any glee from calling a US House Representative a liar, it discredits one of tenets of what I do, the idea that politics should reflect the good of the people. The good of the people cannot possibly be served by lying to them, not exaggerating, lying. The fact that a radio show host lies should not create much uproar, your lying synchronising with him might just tend to.

You can continue your agenda of making the current Republican Party mess about other people and other people's reaction to you, but you and Eric Cantor have both been very careful to hew to Rush's line and not deny him the leadership of Republicanism. Your very large problem is that very public behavior under cuts your entire thesis that Democrats are hiding something. There is no doubt that we are trying to make you pay for your choices - remember that "Personal Responsibility" thing? We understand It Only Counts If You Aren't Republican.

(oh, judging from your caterwauling, we're succeeding)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you suppose folks in the Obama administration are going around saying "Damn, it can't be THIS easy, can it?'

Zakariah Johnson said...

I'm not usually one for sports metaphors, but in the current administration they fit--Obama is a 3-point shooter, which is to say, he plays chess, not checkers or one-hand-at-a-time 5 card poker. Obama won't try to drive the basket or make the awe-inspiring slam dunk. He'll just quietly runs up the score. The campaign to undermine Rush has been masterfully done; and even has the potential to ultimately create a Republican party that is free enough of his strangle-hold to offer compromise and, perhaps, even original ideas.