Feb 282015
 

Yesterday John Boehner, aka Agent Orange, proved that the Republican Party is too incompetent to govern, as their own Homeland Security extension came to the floor and failed.  Leadership with such a large majority should at least know how their own caucus is going to vote to spare themselves the humiliation of such an incident.  In the end, he had to obtain Democrats help so save his bacon, and more important, spare the country a DHS shutdown.  Did he lie to her to obtain that help?

0228BoehnerRepublicans vowing to govern effectively as a congressional majority failed a fundamental test Friday, when House leaders only narrowly managed to avert a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security after an embarrassing defeat earlier in the day.

The seven-day funding extension, approved by a vote of 357 to 60, came just hours before money for the department was to run out at midnight. The accord was reached after a stunning and humiliating setback for Speaker John A. Boehner and his leadership team earlier Friday, when the House voted against their original plan to extend funding for the department for three weeks — a position that Mr. Boehner had considered a fail-safe. More than 50 House Republicans defected, voting against the bill.

The speaker was rescued by Democrats, who supported his offer of a weeklong extension because they believed it would lead to a vote next week on full funding for the department through the fiscal year, without any provisions related to President Obama’s executive actions on immigration included in the House’s original legislation. A spokesman for Mr. Boehner said the speaker had made no promises or deals with House Democrats to guarantee such a vote.

“Your vote tonight will assure that we will vote for full funding next week,” wrote Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader, in a letter to her members on Friday night urging them to support Mr. Boehner’s seven-day funding measure. The House vote came after the Senate had already agreed to a seven-day funding extension.

About 10 minutes before the funding was set to expire, the White House announced that the president had signed the weeklong extension… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

Rachel Maddow covered the story of the conflict.

I see it this way.  Pelosi never has had a problem with saying and doing things that will be unpopular with her base, such as her 2006 promise that the Democratic Party impeach or prosecute Texas Torquemada and Dead-eye Dick.  Had she not received the promise she claims, she would have asked her caucus to support the one week extension anyway, because Democrats, Unlike the Republican Party, care about what’s best for the country.  I’m sure she asked for the guarantee, however.

I think what probably happened is that Agent Orange made the promise, because he knows that, if DHS is shut-down, his party will have a PR disaster akin to the hit they took for shutting down the government.  Putting a clean bill on the floor is the only way he can avoid that.  So I think that he lied to his own caucus through his spokesperson, to temporarily avoid a noisy revolt.

The final question is this.  Will he keep the promise he made, or will he cave-in to the Theocon and InsaniTEA wings of his caucus?  After all, Republican promises have no value.

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  10 Responses to “Which of Boehner’s Statements Is a Lie?”

  1. Isn't he lying any time his lips are moving (unless food or Jamesons is going in, of course)?

  2. He lies every time he needs something! You can be sure that Ms. Pelosi has her ducks in a row! She wouldn’t let Agent Orange get by with shutting down the DHS. Plus the bill they had wanted to pass was so chock-full of goodies for them, it would never have passed, even if they had a super-majority. LOL!
    Pretty bad when your own people won’t vote for their own bills!

  3. Well, of course there was a deal.  Why else would Pelosi have directed Democrats save Boehner's ass?

    That said, bottom line: Dear Dems, either get it in writing or get your money upfront.  Rethuglican DNA is helixed to always – ALWAYS – lie, cheat and steal.

  4. I trust Pelosi's word more than Boehner's.

  5. Of course he lied!  That is all he ever does.  I agree with Nameless on his critique of Republicans.  

  6. Boehner and the Republicanus/Teabaggerum would be wise to follow the words of Mr Spock: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."

    Boehner lied probably to both Pelosi and to his caucus.  He knows no honour . . . only a fifth of Jamesons to blot out his memory.

  7. TY TC – at least Homeland Security will know which 60 phones to listen to for sedition, if not downright treachery. 

    It is shenanigans like this that make America lose respect with the rest of the world – the Repugs can't even keep American services and institutions running without drama and hysteria and shut downs.  So sad.

     

  8.  I believe he lied to Nancy Pelosi. I will be very surprised if he bucks the Tea Baggers and brings a clean Bill to a vote. He is afraid of losing his job as Speaker and they are threatening to attempt to oust him from that office. We all know he is more concerned about himself than the country.

  9. Boehner is the Tea Party's dream.  He bends so well.  Lies so well and as far criminals go well the American people voted them in.

  10. It' seems were all on the same page.  Now we get to wait and see what happens this week.

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