John Boehner
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I suppose that he first act will be to install a tanning booth next to the White House gym. He has to keep up that orange tan for the cameras!
Well, if he does decide to run to for the Presidency, we will likely be treated to more verbal gaffes than George W. Bush and Sarah Palin combined. Here's an example of Boehner at his more banal:
..."the only way we're going to get our economy going again and solve our budget problems is to get the economy moving."
Thanks for the words of wisdom. I can't envision Boehner having much of any support, outside of K Street and the Washington cocktail circuit, where he spends a good deal of his time.
As for Boehner himself, the guy is known as one of the most corrupt members of the House. He's your prototypical political hack. This is the same guy who was caught back in the 1990's handing out checks to GOP congressmen who voted favorably on a bill supporting the tobacco industry. When caught, he claimed that he was opposed to the practice of purchasing votes! From the tobacco industry, to big banking (Citigroup and Goldman Sachs in specific), and to big agriculture, Boehner has them all in his pocket. This is the same guy who supports, without preconditions, the for-profit college sector and the associated student loan industry. Both of these players operate and profit off of government spending, and both benefited from Boehner's move to stop the Department of Education from giving low cost loans to needy students looking to get an education in public colleges. Student lenders benefit and so do for-profit colleges like Kaplan do as well. Win-win for everyone. Except students who are stuck with onerous loan terms.
And these are just a few examples!! This is a guy who's more known for wining and dining lobbyists from these industry groups more than anything else. It is what he does best. He spends more time on golf junkets (organized by said friends) than he does on the House floor. He has been able to achieve power in Washington through his prowess at fundraising, for both himself and other GOP candidates.
There are plenty of creatures that exist in the swamps of Washington with similar stripes to Boehner, both Republicans and Democrats. Certainly Harry Reid is just as bad, or even worse, to take one example. Boehner however is your typical double-talking politician. A gladhander who enjoys the company of corporate lobbyists more than the average American, the same types who has dominated the political scene for years now. He can lie, cheat, and change his mind on key issues on the command of his lobbyist handlers.
You want to know why Congress is so unpopular with the public? Look to figures like Boehner. No matter who is in power, that elected body bows to the will of those who fund their campaigns, while the size and cost of government grows to new bounds. Debt is unequivocally connected to corruption at the highest levels of both government and corporate America. Bought off Congressmen ignore real social problems like long term unemployment and the increased divide between rich and poor to instead construct massive new handouts to friendly industries who promise electoral support in return for favorable legislative outcomes.
Both parties have made it their business to service these forces, with the hope that the illusion of American power can somehow be propped up for another day. Slowly but surely, the things that made this country great are being taken apart, for the sake of avarice and lack of long term planning.
The same guy who supported many of the big spending bills of the past 10 years, whether it be the TARP bank bailout, Medicare Part D, No Child Left Behind and a host of other corporate welfare bills, was propelled into the Speakership by an anti-incumbent movement seeking to end those very same practices. The TARP--the $700 billion bailout of the reckless megabanks, is the perfect example of Boehner's priorities. He collects millions in contributions from those very same players, and still backs, from the start, the bailout of these groups.
And he tearfully pleaded from the House to "vote yes". Of course, the majority of the Republican caucus ignored him and his tears.
Perhaps one of the most fascinating storylines of the next Congress will be whether or not Boehner will be able to coexist with the Tea Party movement. The big issue right now is the passage of the national budget (one wasn't passed last year) and raising the debt ceiling. If the debt ceiling isn't raised, it is likely that we will see a government shutdown, since the government won't be able to make its spending obligations. Boehner has indicated that he will allow it to be raised, but that isn't going down well with the Tea Party caucus. They've always been very critical of those spending programs, even under Bush, but you'd have to wonder how long will the marriage between grass roots activists and corporate Bush-style Republicans will last. We'll find out in the next few months who really leads the Republican party. I already have my suspicions.
Small government for these types is but a rhetorical tool to be used when the cameras are on. When it comes down to it, they lavish taxpayer funds on their friends while the rest of us eat cake. They're more than willing to cut spending, only when it comes out of other priorities, such as aid for hurricane victims or education, or food stamp aid. But no such talk is entertained when they're talking about cutting overall spending, since that means that the big industry groups will have to take one on the arm too.
No need to shed a tear for old John Boehner. He's done well for himself, at the expense of the rest of us.