George Stephanopoulos reports on events in politics, Congress and the White House for ABCNews, on the air and online. He interviews top newsmakers, discusses the events of the week and looks to the week ahead each Sunday on 'This Week.'
RECENT POSTS
- Roundtable: Geithner Isn’t Going Anywhere
- Reich: Palin Populism v Romney Respectability
- Blackburn: Health Care By the Numbers
- Coburn: No Negotiation Over Ensign Affair
- Breast Cancer Controversy: Will Reform Impose Guidelines?
- Ben Nelson: No Health Care if No Change in Public Option and Abortion Funding
- Fireworks? (So Far) Sedate Senate Health Debate Underway
- Sen. Nelson Will Vote Yes on Saturday
- Obama Group Targets 'Dangerous' Palin
- No Thanksgiving Troop Decision
- Coming Up on 'This Week': Exclusive Health Care Debate
- Obama May Extend TARP Beyond Expiration Date
- Reid Rules Out Reconciliation?
- Report: Rudy Giuliani Rules Out NY Gov Bid
- Ben Nelson Ready to Let Health Debate Begin
- Sebelius says Ignore Mammogram Rec, GOP Attacks Health Reform Bill
- Small Business Issues Take Center Stage at Treasury
- Palin on Rush: Let’s Duke It Out
- Byrd to Become Longest-Serving Member of Congress
- Health Care: CBO Numbers Are In (Almost)
GEORGE REPORTS
- 2016
- Afghanistan
- Barack Obama
- Books
- Capitol Hill
- Caught My Eye
- Current Affairs
- Daily Show
- Democrats
- Democrats Vote 2008
- Environment
- Financial Bailout
- George Personal
- Health Care
- Hillary Clinton
- Iran
- Iraq
- Joe Biden
- John McCain
- Music
- Nobel Prize
- North Korea
- Pakistan
- Polls
- Question of the Day
- Republicans
- Republicans Vote 2008
- Sarah Palin
- Supreme Court
- Ted Kennedy
- Television
- The Economy
- This Week with George Stephanopoulos
- Washington
- What I'm Reading
- White House
- World News
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
Boehner: 'Digging Ourselves Out of a Deep Hole'
June 11, 2009 6:07 PM
House GOP leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, invited me to his “smoke-filled room” in the Capitol this
afternoon.
Offering me a Diet Coke and pulling out a Camel 99 for himself, he spent the next
half hour giving me a blunt analysis of his party’s problems and a forceful presentation on how
to solve them.
“We’re digging ourselves out of a deep hole,” he admitted. “We took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney,
the Iraq War, and by sacrificing fiscal responsibility to hold power.”
Boehner also acknowledged that the GOP hasn’t done a good enough to job shaking the “party of no” label.
But he believes, with some justification, that President Obama is more popular than his policies, and he outlined a comeback strategy.
MIDDLE CLASS FIRST – That will be the GOP theme going forward. The “American middle class is going to get whacked by Obama’s proposals” on health care, energy and the economy. People who “played by the rules are paying for those who didn’t.” He flatly predicted that his party’s efforts would prevent Obama from getting his summer agenda through the House by the August recess: “There’s no way to move a national energy tax and health care and 12 appropriations bills.”
JUST SAY YES – Boehner knows that his party is obligated to say “how we would solve problems.” And that it must do a much better job of getting that message out. He cited the introduction yesterday of their “American Energy Act,” which would include more incentives to produce nuclear power, and promised health care legislation soon.
OBAMA’S ACHILLES HEEL – Boehner believes it’s national security. “This thing is real,” he said. Watch for more tough votes on Guantanamo, interrogation memos and photos – and a big push on the issue emerging today: the Obama Justice Department admission that some detainees have been read their Miranda rights. “I think most Americans will be appalled that we’re providing Miranda rights to terrorists,” Boehner predicted. “This thing is going to bubble up big.”
RUN EVERYWHERE – Looking ahead to the midterms, Boehner has his eye on the 84 Democrats holding seats where Bush-Cheney won in 2004 and the 49 Democrats holding seats carried by McCain in 2008. While he didn’t repeat Republican House Whip Rep. Eric Cantor’s prediction that the GOP would take back control of the House in 2010, Boehner believes big gains will come. “Our goal is to field 80-100 really good candidates, and we’re 25% of the way there.”
As for 2012, “there’s wide open, and there’s really wide open.” Boehner shrugged off recent polls suggesting that Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh are the voice of the GOP. “They’re not on the ballot and they won’t be on the ballot.”
Who will? Who knows? For now, that’s not Boehner’s problem.
--George Stephanopoulos
June 11, 2009 in Republicans | Permalink | Share | User Comments (72)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Unfortunately for the GOP, Boehner is the leader is just say 'no'. This guy is a younger version of Cheney.
Posted by: Bob | Jun 11, 2009 6:32:21 PM
If he wasn't such a sad man I would be laughing! What a ridiculous politician. WHO keeps voting for this guy???
Posted by: ChrisB | Jun 11, 2009 6:54:59 PM
True to a guy's sense of direction.
Posted by: harama goti | Jun 11, 2009 6:56:56 PM
This guy is just clueless is he? Why is he the minority leader anyway?
Posted by: PD | Jun 11, 2009 7:00:16 PM
I'm sure that the American middle class - which has been decimated by the deregulation and "patriotic" economic inequality of conspicuous consumption and Reaganomics - cannot WAIT to see what John Boehner has in store for them.
Posted by: Seth | Jun 11, 2009 7:01:23 PM
read the Miranda rights?? not the Miranda rights!! It's,...it's...it's almost like we're following the constitution or something!!!!
Posted by: LJ | Jun 11, 2009 7:01:28 PM
Apparently, some Bagram detainees were also Mirandized by the FBI under the Bush administration. Until the GOP refrains from so much hypocisy and begins being intellectually honest, they will remain in the "deep hole".
Posted by: B.Bear | Jun 11, 2009 7:02:33 PM
Did he say Fiscal responsibility and National security? Right wing terrorist have killed a man last week and this week in America, while rush,hanity,beck and orielly call for violence on a daily basis. Help the middle class, to where their grave? Nobody has caused more pain and agony for the middle class than the "Wrong wing party of NO" I'll bet he did not clear this with Spongerush Fatpants, the chairman of the Wrong wing party of NO.
Posted by: gary | Jun 11, 2009 7:24:14 PM
The GOP is just digging the hole deeper, with all their hateful extremism. They can dig themselves right into Hell for all I care.
Posted by: Thomas Mc | Jun 11, 2009 7:24:36 PM
For the neocons it always comes down to how to spin it - what image they're inventing this week. Bottom line is that their true agenda only benefits the rich and powerful, not America.
Posted by: Barbara Campbell, Asheville, NC | Jun 11, 2009 7:27:23 PM
Boehner really doesn't have a clue about the middle class in America. Apparently he doesn't even understand that all of us regular people would prefer to be able to take our kids and ourselves to the doctor when we get sick instead of just dying quietly so we won't bother him. He doesn't seem to get it that his party did this to us. It cuts no ice that democrats had the House and Senate for the last two years of Bush because the Republicans had the White House and enough votes in Congress to enforce their just say no junk. The got away with obstructionism for two years in the hope that it would make the country angry with the democrats. They didn't care at all that the country was brought to it's knees. The 2008 election season should have been a clue for them that America is sick of that, but they still don't get it. Don't expect to pick up a lot of seats in 2010. We're all wide awake and paying attention and we've mad as h*ll about what you did to us.
Posted by: karela | Jun 11, 2009 7:33:19 PM
OBVIOUSLY, being in the tanning tank too long has seared this man's "brain". He doesn't look stupid, but everything he says IS! The events of the last 2 weeks have shown most of the public that this R extremeness is not benefiting the US. Gates comments today only add to that.
Posted by: John | Jun 11, 2009 7:37:45 PM
whats with this no miranda rights to people accused of crimes.
either they are criminals and have the rights of criminals or they are pows and have the rights of pows.
the want they classified as terrorists and no rights.
doing wwii the japanees violated the rights of pows. we held the high moral ground and won.
doing the cold war the commies tortured. we held the high moral ground and one.
now the republicans/conservatives want us to give up the moral ground. the second we do that we lose and the terrorists win.
Posted by: ariveria | Jun 11, 2009 7:40:40 PM
"Boehner also acknowledged that the GOP hasn’t done a good enough to job shaking the “party of no” label."
Well, perhaps if every time Boehner held a press conference it wasn't, invariably, a "NO" of some type. Negative criticism is just as like saying "NO". A good start would be a press conference where Boehner talked about a new idea to solve a problem and how he intends to work across the aisle to get it done.
NAH! That's just crazy talk.
Posted by: Jay | Jun 11, 2009 7:44:21 PM
Typo: "Boehner also acknowledged that the GOP hasn’t done a good enough to job shaking the “party of no” label."
Lose the word "to".
Posted by: ofao | Jun 11, 2009 7:51:25 PM
How appropriate that he said they were "digging themselves out of a hole"--how exactly does one do that?
Keep digging GOP!!!
Posted by: margi | Jun 11, 2009 7:51:35 PM
Unfortunately he has made a number of errors that have made the GOP look a little ridiculous. His very well packaged GOP version of their stimulous plan was scetchy at best. This was his idea and it was ridiculous. He is the leader of the "Party of No". I tend to just ignore him, because everything is a repeat of the day before.
Posted by: Sharonkatheen | Jun 11, 2009 8:09:01 PM
I tend to just ignore him, because everything is a repeat of the day before.
Posted by: Sharonkatheen | Jun 11, 2009 8:09:01 PM
--------------------------------
He's a Republican ,what did you expect?
Not change I hope..
Posted by: Darby | Jun 11, 2009 8:45:38 PM
The Party of lies, deceit, distortion and alternate reality strikes again!
Posted by: treetracker | Jun 11, 2009 9:06:00 PM
I think I see the problem; you can't dig yourself OUT of a hole, you have to climb out. That explains a lot....
Posted by: MichaelC | Jun 11, 2009 9:13:07 PM
Boehner "took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney." What a nice image.
Posted by: doug | Jun 11, 2009 9:35:53 PM
Maybe they can float out of this hole by filling it with John Boehner's tears.
Posted by: Mister. E | Jun 11, 2009 9:56:49 PM
All about getting into power isn't it? And isn't this th edefinition of saying no : He flatly predicted that his party’s efforts would prevent Obama from getting his summer agenda through the House by the August recess: “There’s no way to move a national energy tax and health care and 12 appropriations bills.”
Until these guys get that they have to actually give a carp about the middle class and in today's information age we can test your BS in a nanosecond on the intertubes, they will be playing blind mans bluff
Posted by: Bayner | Jun 11, 2009 9:59:49 PM
The whole country is in a hole, a big one that will swallow all of us unless adults once again show up in DC. It doesn't matter much to me who wears what party jersey but if anyone thinks the difficulties we are facing are from one party or the other than they are surely dillusional or have their heads in a dark and stinky place.
Posted by: david | Jun 11, 2009 10:24:51 PM
Pathetic.
How do clowns like this find their way to Washington?
We really have to stop sending ignorant morons to do our governing. C'mon, Ohio, surely you've got somebody better than this, somewhere in your state!
No wonder this country is in such a mess. If this is the best we can do, kiss it goodbye.
Posted by: mike | Jun 11, 2009 10:31:19 PM
Post a comment
MY MUST-READS
- Talking Points Memo
- ABC News' The Note
- Jake Tapper's Political Punch
- ABC News' The Numbers
- Mark Halperin's The Page
- The American Prospect
- The Chicago Sun-Times -- Lynn Sweet
- The Huffington Post -- Politics
- Drudge Report
- FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right
- National Review -- The Corner
- New York Times -- David Brooks
- The New York Times -- The Caucus
- The New Majority
- Paul Krugman -- The Conscience of a Liberal
- Politico -- Ben Smith
- Politico -- Mike Allen’s Playbook
- Powerline Blog
- Real Clear Politics
- The Washington Post -- The Fix
- Los Angeles Times - Top of the Ticket

