Boehner says government doesn't work the way it's worked 42 times since 1980

House Speaker John Boehner explains his whack-a-doodle list of demands for not sending the nation spiraling into crisis.

On the debt limit, we're going to introduce a plan that ties important spending cuts and pro-growth reforms to a debt limit increase. Now the president says "I'm not gonna negotiate." Well, I'm sorry but it just doesn't work that way. [...]

Yes, that's exactly how it works. That's how it's worked 42 times since 1980, including 17 times under Ronald Reagan and seven times under George W. Bush. With no hostages taken. Because putting conditions on whether or not the country goes into default, thereby sparking a global economic crisis, is fucking insane.

And what happened to Boehner's insistence last week that he was refusing to negotiate with Obama? Or his insistence back in January that his negotiating days with Obama were over?

If anybody is driving the clown car that is the House GOP conference, it's clearly not Boehner. Which would make this thing pretty hilarious and extremely pathetic for Boehner, except for that whole global economic crisis part.