Remember now: Neither party can bitch about this. This is equal-opportunity golfing. John Boehner misses a birdie, he starts crying. Obama hits an eagle, people start claiming he’s not patriotic because they unfairly twist the statement to make it seem like he hit an actual bald eagle. Let’s mark June 18th as the day Obama and Boehner decided to skip out on work and take in a round of golf. Together. (photo by Charles Dharapak/AP)
Only in America can sending a dirty tweet make you more well known than being one of the most powerful people in the country.Tom Jensen at Public Policy Polling • Reflecting on the fact that Anthony Weiner has higher name recognition than John Boehner. Also in that poll: Weiner’s national approval rating is 8%. His disapproval? 70%. Yikes. source (via • follow)
John Boehner, massive White Castle fan: The Speaker of the House, above, was inducted into White Castle’s 2011 Cravers Hall of Fame today. He’s the first inductee of the year, and this is probably the most important honor he’ll earn all year. Speaker of the House doesn’t even compare to this shit. White Castle, by the way, was on Capitol Hill in honor of their 90th anniversary, in which they fed Congress lots of square-shaped burgers. This is the company’s biggest PR boon since they first met Kal Penn.
![John Boehner: Obama isn’t serious about cutting the deficit: “He’s talking about [the deficit],” Boehner says. “But I’m not seeing real action here.” Obama put the Bush tax cuts on the cutting board. You won’t. Who’s serious again? source Follow ShortFormBlog](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ll8up3AhOH1qas8z9o1_500.jpg)
John Boehner: Obama isn’t serious about cutting the deficit: “He’s talking about [the deficit],” Boehner says. “But I’m not seeing real action here.” Obama put the Bush tax cuts on the cutting board. You won’t. Who’s serious again? source
That would be a financial disaster, not only for us, but for the worldwide economy. I don’t think it’s a question that’s even on the table.Speaker Of The House John Boehner • Commenting on the looming necessity to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, all the way back in late January. See how quickly things change? Seriously, though, the above statement is almost certainly Speaker Boehner’s true opinion on this issue. The fact that he’s now trying to game some more political leverage out of it is unsurprising, as it’s very similar to the way he handled last month’s budget battle. Greg Sargent has a pretty astute take on this — that Boehner knows failure to raise the limit is unthinkable, but wants to push this debate as close to the eleventh hour as possible, hoping that will make it easier to convince members of his own party that he got all he could out of the White House. Sounds about right to us. source (via • follow)
» So, what the hell can John Boehner do now? This recent analysis, if it’s both correct and widely disseminated, could have huge implications for the GOP going forward. Since becoming Speaker of the House, the contortions Boehner has made to try to appease the Tea Party contingent have been obvious and striking — it’s clear that his fiscal conservatism is less their sort and more that of establishment Republicanism, by which I mean he doesn’t really care about spending cuts in any significant measure. The $38 billion figure itself was but a minute fraction of the federal deficit, and Boehner looks really ineffective after if these numbers stick. Will the Republican and Tea Party marriage begin to splinter over news like this?
You know me, I was born with the glass half full.House Speaker John Boehner • Explaining his feeling on whether or not there will be a deal tonight. This statement has meme potential written all over it.
Another tense meeting fails to produce anything tangible. Sounds about right.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
We take it for granted that because of the intense political pressure being applied by the Tea Party, [John Boehner] needs to play an outside game as well as an inside game. As long as he continues to negotiate, it’s OK by us if he needs to strike a different pose publicly. Since last week, the two sides have made steady progress on a package of $33 billion in cuts.Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer • Calling out John Boehner, who’s insisting that no deal has been reached with the Democrats, and that $33 billion in cuts just isn’t enough. Who’s fibbing? We’ll find out by Friday, when either a budget will pass, or the government will shut down. source (via • follow)
» Even more discouraging: That number was at 13% after Republicans won the House in November. That means the percentage of people who incorrectly believe that Pelosi is still Speaker has increased since she handed to gavel over to John Boehner (who, by the way, is only correctly identified as Speaker of the House by 43% of Americans). Sigh.
» Still not a sure thing: Joe Biden, who has been negotiating a budget with the Republicans, says that he and Republicans are now “working off the same number” in their talks. However, John Boehner’s spokesman made it clear that “there is no deal until everything is settled.” If this budget passes, the cuts will fall drastically short of the $100 billion Republicans pledged to cut during last November’s elections. If it doesn’t, a government shutdown will become a near-certainty.
» What’s being proposed: The provision, which comes in the form of an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill, would affect the way votes are tallied when rail or aviation workers decide whether or not to unionize. Under the proposed amendment, no-shows and abstentions would count as “no” votes (that is, votes against unionization; if anyone can explain the intellectual justification behind such a policy, we’re all ears). But not only does the bill face a possible presidential veto; there’s also doubt as to whether House leadership even has the votes to pass it. We’ll keep you posted as to how this plays out after tomorrow’s vote.
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