Civility, Boehner-style:
Boehner: Dem tax bill 'chicken crap'
On Wednesday, John Boehner (R-Ohio) said House Democrats were playing political games for forcing a vote on extending the lower- and middle-income tax rates while Obama administration officials were huddling with House and Senate lawmakers. On Thursday, Boehner took it a step further.
“I’m trying to catch my breath so I don’t refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken crap, alright?” Boehner told reporters in the Capitol Thursday.“But this is nonsense. Alright? The election was one month ago. We’re 23 months from the next election and the political games have already started, trying to set up the next election. We had an honest conversation at the White House about the challenges that we face to get out of here and to take care of what the American people expect of us. And the roll this vote out today, it really is just what you think I was going to say anyway.”
It's obvious that the reason Boehner is so mad is that he doesn't want to be on record voting against middle-class tax cuts. He knows that voting to hold middle-class tax cuts hostage is electoral poison -- that's why he says this is a vote about setting up "the next election." And it's why -- as he said in September -- if it were the only thing he could vote on, he'd vote for it. Unfortunately, he won't be forced into making that choice. But it's reminder that if Democrats were serious about playing hardball, they could win.