Congress

Boozy Boehner?

By Jay Newton-Small | @JNSmall | July 1, 2010 | +

House Minority Leader John Boehner is having a tough week. He’s been pounded by Democrats for comparing the financial crisis to an “ant” and the financial regulatory reform bill a “nuclear weapon” the Dems have broken out to slay that pesky ant. But adding insult to injury, one of his own, Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, accused Boehner of being “disengaged at best” and a “lazy” barfly. Boehner was asked today about these allegations in a press conference today:

QUESTION: What do you think about Joe Scarborough calling you lazy?

BOEHNER: I’ve always believed you only tease the ones you love.

QUESTION: Is there any truth to the matter that you’re at bars at 5 or 6 o’clock during the day?

BOEHNER: You can go back over the last 16 years and — and look at my schedule, and you’ll — you’d be hard-pressed to find a night when I wasn’t doing events for my colleagues and my candidates.

Best non-denial denial ever! I drink for you, my people. I suffer every drop of that loathed bourbon all for the GOP conference.

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Related Topics: alcohol, lazy, Congress

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  • Paul-no not that one

    “Is there any truth to the matter that you’re at bars at 5 or 6 o’clock during the day?”
    .
    If that is AM then maybe (maybe!) that’s an issue but getting a bump after work is now scandalous?

  • http://theblindspotsofgod.wordpress.com lawyermommy

    In his favor, he is handsome hahaha….. even though he always appears intellectually challenged in the speeches he makes and his responses to questions. :)

    Hmmm…. he is being picked on. I do not think that he is worse than many in Congress. Many are like him, locked offices, drinking and groping staffers in the Massa like way.

    Oh, well. Congress needs an overhaul. It seems they need babysitters as well.

    LM
    http://theblindspotsofgod.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/criminals-use-technology-to-trackrape-and-kill-innocent-people/

  • grape_crush

    “…you’d be hard-pressed to find a night when I wasn’t doing events for my colleagues and my candidates.”

    I guess, if you’re one that considers something like a pub crawl with a local chapter of the College Republicans an ‘event’ with ‘colleagues’.

    At least we now know why Boehner’s skin is Oompa-Loompa Orange; it’s not from the excess tanning, it’s jaundice.

  • deconstructiva

    Jay, thanks for snark at end and always look on the bright side of life. Besides, you might get comments here to make up for ones you didn’t get for finance reform (although if you didn’t notice earlier, I appreciated your efforts there and said so). However, re: bars, when you and teammates hang out for drinks (or work when internet is down), have YOU noticed Congress critters and other starlets at your hangouts or do you tend to avoid them after hours? Do you enjoy bourbon? I do, esp. Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark.
    .
    …then again, are all swamp temmates in your DC office or do some work out of New York / Starfleet Command? (why I ask: just noticed Adam’s twitter profile and he lists NY. Also, Kate and Barbara Kiviat at CC blog have mentioned each other and BK is in NY) Just curious. Thanks for your thoughts …esp. on finance reform. Feel better, Jay? If not, have a few drinks of MM tonight; that will cheer you up.

  • http://www.stevebeste.com Steve Beste

    Boehner Stoops to Conquer.

  • apr2563

    Jay, did you ever consider Scarborough may have an agenda? I find Boehner abhorent but he has a little pest nipping at his heels: Cantor. I have a feeling, and you might do some reporting before passing on the remarks and ask Scarborough whether he thinks Cantor would be a better minority leader? It is fun to watch Scarborough when his motives are questioned.

  • grape_crush

    “Boozy Boehner Has Performance Issues; Limp Effort to Stick It to Dems.”

  • kevin

    For the win.

  • nflfoghorn

    Is his middle name Peter? ;)

  • destor23

    I agree entirely. I might hate Boehner’s politics but I’m never going to begrudge a guy a drink after work. This is pretty lame criticism.

  • http://www.twitter.com/jnsmall Jay Newton-Small

    Scherer, Alex, Crowley and I are in DC. Everyone else is in NYC… I’m not much of a bourbon drinker — but, then again, i could never handle the hard stuff.
    JNS

  • destor23

    Where are our priorities? Isn’t the real scandal that this moron claimed we should cut Social Security benefits to pay for the never-ending war in Afghanistan?

  • nflfoghorn

    OMG his kidneys are in overdrive!

  • grape_crush

    “Boozy Boehner Strikes Out, Takes Pounding Back at Home”

  • http://erieangel.wordpress.com erieangel

    Well, he’s right. After all, the only people on social security are dead beats who can very well out and find jobs easily.

    Gawd almighty, I hate that orange-faced loser.

  • http://www.simonvinkenoog.nl/beeld/Yogi%20-%20Annelies%20Rigter.jpg yogi

    nice.

  • http://www.simonvinkenoog.nl/beeld/Yogi%20-%20Annelies%20Rigter.jpg yogi

    When did Scarborough become Boehner’s wife? Stop complaining about his whiskey …ah… Boehner!

  • notfooledbydistractions

    It’s nice for him to confirm that his priorities are fundraising for the gop over doing the job he was elected to do.

  • textee

    Jay Newton-Small asserts: “But adding insult to injury, one of his own, Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, ….”

    “[O]ne of his own”? ROTFLMAO!

    Newton-Small did, though, did get correct the fact that Scarborough is a “former Republican”. However, her sentence structure is a little off. Rather than calling Scarborough a “former Republican congressman”, it would be more accurate and precise to call Scarborough “a former Republican and former congressman.” Today, Scarborough can best be described as Mika Brzezinski in drag, and it ain’t pretty. The end.

  • shepherdwong

    When I saw it, I was thinking, “lay off the Xanax, dude.” Slow also kills.

  • gysgt213

    Apparently this was well known in villiage circles. But know in the villiage saw fit to report this. Until Scarborough spill the beans and made this a big deal.
    .
    But in all fairness made the villiage figured that if all Bohner is doing is drinking and partying hard that he is relative saint compared to some the other antics politicians find themselves involved in.
    .
    Now some like Cenk Uygar at TYT are thinking that what is really going on here is that Scarborough is a Cantor fan and wants to see Cantor as minority leader. I wouldn’t put it past Scarborough to have this type of agenda and motives, but I don’t think there is enough evidence to prove this. Yet.

  • grape_crush

    Oh, the thinks you can think…

    “Boozy Boehner Responding to Stimulus Negatively”

  • nflfoghorn

    Cenk Uygar = Jenk Wigahr (that’s as close as I can pronounce it ;) )

  • apr2563

    See comment 6 gunny. My thoughts exactly. I wish Jay would have considered Scarborough’s motives a little. No fan of the orange man or Cantor, am I. But, unlike some posting here propose, Scarborough is a manipulative Rep. spokesperson.

  • gysgt213

    apr2563-Thanks. I actually saw your post and meant to mention your post as well as the discussion Cenk was having last night, but I screwed my post up and I apologize.

  • nflfoghorn

    Morning Joke was so adamant that Bill Clinton had to be impeached, yet he flew the coop first chance he got for Dollar Almighty. That’s gratitude for ya.

  • kevin

    Agreed. He drinks after hours? Who cares?

  • apr2563

    Hey gunny, I was just glad to note someone else saw through the sham.

  • hellslittlestangel

    What if he spends hours drinking every night and shows up hung over each day?

  • gysgt213

    apr2563-Here is the tyt discussion I was talking about. Check out the awkerness.
    .

  • hellslittlestangel

    And of course Bush was still slurring his words 15 years after he stopped drinking.

  • sacredh

    “Boozy Boehner?”

    Once you start on the Long Island Iced Teabaggers, you’re a goner.

  • kevin

    Well, Boehner seems to be a horribly ineffective minority leader. As a Democrat, I don’t care what the cause is, as long as he keeps tanking.
    .
    If it’s the booze, we should all pitch in and send him a case of Glenfiddich.

  • apr2563

    Thanks for the link to Cenk. I think Jackson has it absolutely right. I figured it was all political. Since I never watch Scarborough (I have an anti-Mika problem), I didn’t know Cantor was on the show regularly.

  • Alex Vallas

    As far as being “pounded by Democrats” because of his stupid comments regarding financial reform — I don’t see any evidence of that. In fact, it should have been front page news. It clearly indicates what an idiot he is and how little concern he has for Americans who have suffered because of lack of reform. What is really scary is that Cantor is probably promoting dissatisfaction with Boehner so he can conceiveably move up. Cantor is a danger to the US. I question his allegiance to the US vs. Israel. He had the nerve to call Rhamm Emanuel and ask that the administration take it easy with Israel while Israel was violating US agreements and tearing down Palestinian housing to build Jewish settlements. That course of action is not what the US needs. Unless we have a balanced foreign policy in the Middle East there will never be peace, and it is OUR military along with the US that suffers. Cantor’s primary allegiance is questionable. His ambition is not.

  • kevin

    I’m not so concerned about Cantor’s ambition as I am about his intelligence.
    .
    This is the same congressman who in 2007 insisted adamantly that Congress had no constitutional role in declaring war and it was required to follow the Commander in Chief on whatever he wanted to do. I mean, just basic elementary school civics stuff.
    .
    http://blog.hyperjeff.net/?p=70
    .
    And yet, for some reason, this dim bulb has this reputation as a “wonk” even though he has no real issues he advances on his own.

  • kevin

    Not a bourbon drinker? Your loss.
    .
    My wife surprised me with a beautiful bottle of Booker’s the other day. Going to be a lovely weekend.

  • m0mentom0ri

    Cue Sound FX
    .
    [Whooosh] On Politics Tonight!
    .
    Is John Boehner really John Boozer! What’s the tanned and ready Congressmen doin’ when the cameras aren’t rollin’?
    .
    [Whoosh]
    .
    Is the presidential candidate from the 90s, Al Gore, really Al Porn! We’ll give you all the shocking details before we even have them!
    .
    [Whoosh]
    All this and more on…[whoosh, bonk, zoom!] POLITICS TONIGHT!
    .
    Annnnnd cut to commercials.

  • http://milascurtains.wordpress.com milascurtains

    I guess, guy, you missed something:
    His work( he is getting paid for by taxpayers money) is proceeded in contineous “hell No” to everything.
    I don’t think that work should be paid.
    Raising money for GOp BP – is his hobby , not a job.
    So, don’t mix things and don’t pay him from Government Money( Government, he hates) for his activity in GOP.
    Simply
    Clear
    And not Political.

  • http://christianliberal.wordpress.com/ christianliberal

    Few people know this, but Boehner got his start on the old Howdy Doody Show!

    http://christianliberal.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/new-republican-leadership-boner/

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