Now that it’s official that John Boehner has won the Speakership again – which, by the way, was a foregone conclusion, given that nobody wanted to go on the record as being an opposition candidate – let us note very quickly this little bit of profane drama from last week:
House Speaker John Boehner couldn’t hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday.
It was only a few days before the nation would go over the fiscal cliff, no bipartisan agreement was in sight, and Reid had just publicly accused Boehner of running a “dictatorship” in the House and caring more about holding onto his gavel than striking a deal.
“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.
Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”
Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.”
Via Hot Air’s Green Room. I bring this up not because I share Speaker Boehner’s warm feelings towards Harry Reid – although I certainly do – but because this exchange would tend to confirm what many people have suspected already: to wit, that Senate Democrats will more or less be marginalized for the remainder of Reid’s tenure as Senate Majority Leader. And when I say ‘marginalized’ I certainly do mean ‘marginalized by the Obama administration:’ the President deliberately sent Vice President Joe Biden out to first cut out Reid from the negotiation process with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and then to whip Senate Democrats for the deal that he and McConnell made*. And it turned out to work: apparently John Boehner can get more out of his caucus than Harry Reid can. In fact, Mitch McConnell apparently can get more out of his caucus than Harry Reid can. Thus, Friday’s contempt will probably be continued – because what is Harry Reid going to do about it? His own party leadership has just demonstrated on Sunday that if it’s really important, they’ll bypass the Democrats’ Congressional “leadership.”
In other words: in the grand drunken dance/brawl that is Dizzy City politics, there are a bunch of people sporting shiners right now… and one of them is Senator Harry Reid. Which is not even remotely my problem.
Moe Lane
PS: I’d speculate on what all of this means for Nancy Pelosi, except that it really doesn’t matter either way.
*I will give Biden this: he was a Senator for decades, and knows how to talk to Senators.
good for John in this case.
Actually, your headline should say “obscenely” rather than “profanely.” And I would have added “… and about freakin’ time, too!”
Ah, first feel-good story of the year. Reid’s an ass, of course, but this doesn’t do a whole lot to change the dynamic.. Reid’s been an ass for decades.
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Further, Boehner’s still a lousy negotiator, can’t figure out brinkmanship, and extracted remarkably little from Obama. That he called out Reid is … chocolate doughnut. Tastes good but the consequences suck!
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Mew
And Harry Reid is a pederast.