Is John Boehner the weakest Speaker in history?

[DMX7]

This guy is terrible.

[m>s]

hes a RHINO traitor and should be purged from office and thrown in prison

[ElNono]

Pelosi was pretty bad, tbqh

[DMX7]

Pelosi was pretty bad, tbqh

The federal government didn't shut down on her watch.

[ElNono]

The federal government didn't shut down on her watch.

Dems had majority in both chambers. Plus "government shutdown" isn't the sole measuring stick.

The fact that she was a majority leader and couldn't get anything better than the ACA is an epic fail right there.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Meh I don't know what Beohner can do when dealing with Ms. Goldman Sachs and the SuperPAC kids. This goes far deeper than the outlook for a single man but rather to the outlook of what he represents. The RNC's authority as an institution is in jeopardy.

[boutons_deux]

Boner has 30 - 40 sociopathic anarchists in his party, mirrored by a handful similar bastards in the Senate, financed by the sociopathic UCA/VRWC, voted in by you tea baggin assholes, who hate govt, want to kill govt, and don't care who gets hurt (as long as it's not themselves and their paymasters)

[EVAY]

From a results standpoint, I find it hard to imagine a worse Speaker, but the red-state districts that he is trying to tame appear unwilling to be lead.

When McCain was running for President and the republicans in congress were participating in creating a 700+ point drop in the Dow in one day by refusing to pass a Republican Administration's request for funds to prevent a world wide financial melt-down, I blamed McCain for a leadership failure.

Now that Boehner had tried and failed for over four years to lead them in a path toward governance rather than obstinacy, I think no one can lead them but a demagogue like Cruz. I have to say that I think Boehner has no balls, though. He clearly prefers to be an empty figurehead than stand up to people he knows are hurting the country and his own party.

[boutons_deux]

"Boehner had tried and failed for over four years to lead them in a path toward governance"

Repugs don't GAFF about governance. It's All Politics, All The Time.

The fundamental Repug concept in the last 30+ years is that all govt is bad unless it's gaming the system and protecting and enriching the 1%, the financial sector, mega-corps.

[baseline bum]

Dems had majority in both chambers. Plus "government shutdown" isn't the sole measuring stick.

The fact that she was a majority leader and couldn't get anything better than the ACA is an epic fail right there.

That cunt Pelosi got a much better health bill passed in the House. The clusterfuck of Obamacare is all on Obama and Harry Reid for having it cut down into Romneycare by the Senate.

[boutons_deux]

"Dems had majority in both chambers."

Never had one in the Senate, certainly NEVER had a predictable, reliable 60

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/111th_United_States_Congress#Senate

[boutons_deux]

That cunt Pelosi got a much better health bill passed in the House. The clusterfuck of Obamacare is all on Obama and Harry Reid for having it cut down into Romneycare by the Senate.

If it had been "too good" (for the 99%) then the health care corps would have "Harry-and-Louised" it to death.

A hard care no-profit public/govt insurance option for all that Obama ran on would have been "too good" and so was pre-emptively excluded by the for-profit insurance companies.

[ElNono]

"Dems had majority in both chambers."

Never had one in the Senate, certainly NEVER had a predictable, reliable 60

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/111th_United_States_Congress#Senate




As we're seeing, don't need supermajority to avoid a government shutdown, so your point is moot.

[boutons_deux]

As we're seeing, don't need supermajority to avoid a government shutdown, so your point is moot.

MY POINT WAS, to counter the bullshit that in 2009 Dems CONTROLLED both houses, that the Dems have never had 60 votes in the Senate.

we now need a vote on clean CR in the House NOW, brought by Boner, and the shutdown would have been avoided, and will be stopped immediately.

It's ALL on Boner now, since a majority of the House Repugs plus Dems would pass it and the Senate would pass it.

[boutons_deux]

...

[ElNono]

MY POINT WAS, to counter the bullshit that in 2009 Dems CONTROLLED both houses, that the Dems have never had 60 votes in the Senate.

We're discussing govt shutdown. No need for 60 votes on that.

Keep up

[boutons_deux]

We're discussing govt shutdown. No need for 60 votes on that.

Keep up

I 'm way ahead of you.

[AntiChrist]

As we're seeing, don't need supermajority to avoid a government shutdown, so your point is moot.


What you need are two sides that are unwilling to negotiate with each other.

[Spurminator]

Point / Counter Point
by John Boehner

http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-republican-party-cannot-stand-by-and-let-obama,34074/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:1:Default

[Th'Pusher]

What you need are two sides that are unwilling to negotiate with each other.

Is the CR an appropriate vehicle to negotiate policy in your opinion?

[EVAY]

Is the CR an appropriate vehicle to negotiate policy in your opinion?

This genuinely is the issue, imo. The Health Care Law can be debated, modified, amended, etc. etc. But to try to repeal it or shut down the government or threaten a credit default of the planet's reserve currency is NOT the proper vehicle for any of it.

This is just insanity.

[Nbadan]

...worse yet the House is responsible for appropriating the budget...there is no mystery of the money due... they are just refusing to put it all on paper...it's a stupid political move that could 'theoretically' increase interest rate on the debt unnecessarily...

[Wild Cobra]

This genuinely is the issue, imo. The Health Care Law can be debated, modified, amended, etc. etc. But to try to repeal it or shut down the government or threaten a credit default of the planet's reserve currency is NOT the proper vehicle for any of it.

This is just insanity.
Why?

What negative effect does this shutdown have? Only nonessential services aren't being funded.

[Nbadan]

There's nothing 'non essential' about people's paychecks...Voters aren't gonna forget this come 2014

Polls are showing that the Republicans are being blamed by most Americans for the trouble arising from the gov't shutdown, so I certainly hope the voters remember to blame the GOP in kind for the trouble they're causing, by voting in a year to get the extremists out!


POLL --> By a margin of 72-22 percent, the Quinnipiac University poll found the public not wanting a government shutdown, and by 64-27 percent opposed to holding up an increase in the debt ceiling as a political cudgel to block Obamacare.
Democrats have moved out to a nine point, 43-34 percent, lead in a “generic” ballot of which party’s candidates for Congress voters are inclined to support.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/10/01/dont-hold-hostage-budget-debt-ceiling-survey/

[EVAY]

Why?

What negative effect does this shutdown have? Only nonessential services aren't being funded.

You couldn't be more wrong. Many governmental employees who are deemed 'essential' (like intelligence personnel, for example) are being forced to show up for work but not getting paid. They don't know if they will get paid later or not. Some of the people are being told that they are on an 'essential' list, but they don't know if they will ever get paid back. The government doesn't allow them to 'volunteer', but it also doesn't allow them to stay home or be paid.

I know this for a fact, WC, because one of my children is in precisely that situation. He refers to it, appropriately, I believe, as Indentured Servitude.

Honestly, you truly cannot believe everything Fox News tells you.

[EVAY]

You couldn't be more wrong. Many governmental employees who are deemed 'essential' (like intelligence personnel, for example) are being forced to show up for work but not getting paid. They don't know if they will get paid later or not. Some of the people are being told that they are on an 'essential' list, but they don't know if they will ever get paid back. The government doesn't allow them to 'volunteer', but it also doesn't allow them to stay home or be paid.

I know this for a fact, WC, because one of my children is in precisely that situation. He refers to it, appropriately, I believe, as Indentured Servitude.

Honestly, you truly cannot believe everything Fox News tells you.

I will, of course, take care of my son and his family if his savings run out before he gets paid, but that is really not the point. How would you feel if you HAD to show up for work because it is considered so important, but didn't know when or if your next paycheck was going to show up? Even the brilliant junior senator from the Great State of Texas was shocked (shocked I say!) when he heard testimony from the Head of Homeland Security and the Director of Intelligence that people are being treated like this. He responded that it was terrible...just terrible...and he hoped that Harry Reid's Shutdown of the government would stop so our nation's safety was no longer compromised.

And so the beat goes on.