‘We’re Just One-Half of One-Third of Government…’

 

That was former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner‘s favorite excuse for his inability to advance Republican ideas and stop then-President Barack Obama.

“Republicans just control the House; there’s only so much we can do here.” In 2011, with Obama in the White House and Harry Reid running the senate, there were certainly grains of truth in Boehner’s whine, but controlling just the House sure doesn’t seem to hinder Nancy Pelosi!

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  1. Rodin Member
    Rodin
    @Rodin

    Why are Democrats more successful at being one-half of one-third? Aggressive, committed, shrewd, shameless.

    • #1
  2. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    Love the picture. This illustrates the narcissism of this fool. Nice indoor tan you got there Mr. Speaker. Add in a glass of bourbon and you have a feckless man who was more than willing to bow to 0bama over and over and forget all of his campaign promises to fight.

    There is likely no one more responsible for President Trump’s success than Boehner, other than 0bama himself (and Candidate Clinton II, of course).

    • #2
  3. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Columbo (View Comment):

    Love the picture. This illustrates the narcissism of this fool. Nice indoor tan you got there Mr. Speaker. Add in a glass of bourbon and you have a feckless man who was more than willing to bow to 0bama over and over and forget all of his campaign promises to fight.

    There is likely no one more responsible for President Trump’s success than Boehner, other than 0bama himself (and Candidate Clinton II, of course).

    But recognize it’s not just government who got us here. Add a Wall Street/Corporate component supported by the Chamber of Commerce/Government connection. That equation equals China.

    • #3
  4. WI Con Member
    WI Con
    @WICon

    Columbo (View Comment):

    Love the picture. This illustrates the narcissism of this fool. Nice indoor tan you got there Mr. Speaker. Add in a glass of bourbon and you have a feckless man who was more than willing to bow to 0bama over and over and forget all of his campaign promises to fight.

    There is likely no one more responsible for President Trump’s success than Boehner, other than 0bama himself (and Candidate Clinton II, of course).

    All that and now he’s a lobbyist for “Big Marijaunna” – juxtapose this useless cretin with the late Great Dr. Tom Corburn. RIP Dr. Corburn, RIH (rot in hell) Mr. Boehner.

    • #4
  5. Jon1979 Inactive
    Jon1979
    @Jon1979

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Why are Democrats more successful at being one-half of one-third? Aggressive, committed, shrewd, shameless.

    It also helps that someone like Pelosi can charge into a situation 90 percent of the time without worrying about the public relations aspect of whatever it is she’s trying to do at the moment, because she’s sure — and the rest of the Democratic caucus is sure — the vast majority of the media will have her back. That’s why last Sunday caught Pelosi by surprise and why someone like Trump — whose public persona had been well-defined for 30-plus years before he ran for president — has an advantage over someone like John Boehner and the mostly-faceless people in the GOP caucus.

    There’s a bit of a Pavlovian response by the GOP, which knows they’re going to have to fight the Democrats and the media on any controversial issue. Romney’s backing off attacking Candy Crowley for lying to help Obama in 2012 debate and his subsequent loss was the last straw for many, and why Trump won. He might often not pick and choose his battles best, but he will fight back, and because it fits in with the personality he’s presented to the public since 1977, he can work around the media in ways a bland persona like a John Boehner can’t.

    Meanwhile, Pelosi thought she could lard up the coronavirus bill with $600 billion in pet projects, because she thought if the GOP balked, the media would immediately slam them, forcing the normal Pavlovian backdown response. Her mistake was thinking the New York-based media was going to be OK with her potentially playing politics with their lives in delaying COVID-19 help. If this wasn’t simply a once-a-year (at best) occurrence, and Pelosi faced media scrutiny on the same level Republicans do, she’s either have to go into open combat with the press like Trump, or start backing off her biggest demands out of fear of the negative PR she and her caucus could face.

    • #5
  6. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Addiction Is A Choice: controlling just the House sure doesn’t seem to hinder Nancy Pelosi!

    Really?  This again?  What, exactly, has Pelosi accomplished?  Being so unhindered and all?  Green New Deal?  Nope.  Not a shred of it.  Medicare for all?  No.  Repeal Trump’s tax cuts?  Not to mention raising taxes across the board and creating a new “wealth tax”?  No, no and no.  End fracking?  Nope.  Free college tuition?  Not that I’ve heard of.  End deportations?  Not so much.  Impeachment?  Don’t make me laugh.  Blocking Trump’s judges?  Well, that’s not Pelosi’s department, but still – no.  Free health care for illegals?  Ha, fat chance.  In fact, you could listen to a two hour long Democratic debate and not hear a single proposal on which Pelosi has made the least progress.  

    But sure, blame Boehner.  I don’t know for what, exactly, but casting blame is good for the soul.  Or something like that.

    • #6
  7. GrannyDude Member
    GrannyDude
    @GrannyDude

    Columbo (View Comment):
    Nice indoor tan you got there Mr. Speaker.

    Just so you know…that weird tan looks just as weird in person. I met him once, extremely briefly, for a grip-n-grin photograph that neither of us, I believe, actually wanted. It was a staff initiative, and we just went with it. I think we might have said something like “hello” and that’s about it.

    But he was definitely orange.

    • #7
  8. tigerlily Member
    tigerlily
    @tigerlily

    Jon1979 (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Why are Democrats more successful at being one-half of one-third? Aggressive, committed, shrewd, shameless.

    It also helps that someone like Pelosi can charge into a situation 90 percent of the time without worrying about the public relations aspect of whatever it is she’s trying to do at the moment, because she’s sure — and the rest of the Democratic caucus is sure — the vast majority of the media will have her back. That’s why last Sunday caught Pelosi by surprise and why someone like Trump — whose public persona had been well-defined for 30-plus years before he ran for president — has an advantage over someone like John Boehner and the mostly-faceless people in the GOP caucus.

    There’s a bit of a Pavlovian response by the GOP, which knows they’re going to have to fight the Democrats and the media on any controversial issue. Romney’s backing off attacking Candy Crowley for lying to help Obama in 2012 debate and his subsequent loss was the last straw for many, and why Trump won. He might often not pick and choose his battles best, but he will fight back, and because it fits in with the personality he’s presented to the public since 1977, he can work around the media in ways a bland persona like a John Boehner can’t.

    Meanwhile, Pelosi thought she could lard up the coronavirus bill with $600 billion in pet projects, because she thought if the GOP balked, the media would immediately slam them, forcing the normal Pavlovian backdown response. Her mistake was thinking the New York-based media was going to be OK with her potentially playing politics with their lives in delaying COVID-19 help. If this wasn’t simply a once-a-year (at best) occurrence, and Pelosi faced media scrutiny on the same level Republicans do, she’s either have to go into open combat with the press like Trump, or start backing off her biggest demands out of fear of the negative PR she and her caucus could face.

    This sounds about right to me.

    • #8
  9. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    Larry3435 (View Comment):

    Addiction Is A Choice: controlling just the House sure doesn’t seem to hinder Nancy Pelosi!

    Really? This again? What, exactly, has Pelosi accomplished? Being so unhindered and all? Green New Deal? Nope. Not a shred of it. Medicare for all? No. Repeal Trump’s tax cuts? Not to mention raising taxes across the board and creating a new “wealth tax”? No, no and no. End fracking? Nope. Free college tuition? Not that I’ve heard of. End deportations? Not so much. Impeachment? Don’t make me laugh. Blocking Trump’s judges? Well, that’s not Pelosi’s department, but still – no. Free health care for illegals? Ha, fat chance. In fact, you could listen to a two hour long Democratic debate and not hear a single proposal on which Pelosi has made the least progress.

    But sure, blame Boehner. I don’t know for what, exactly, but casting blame is good for the soul. Or something like that.

    I think it’s more about not getting rolled. Pelosi hasn’t made Dem advances, but she has slowed Republican ones. Boehner wasn’t much of an impediment which is pretty much all you can do with half of a third. 

    • #9
  10. CarolJoy, Above Top Secret Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Above Top Secret
    @CarolJoy

    Jon1979 (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Why are Democrats more successful at being one-half of one-third? Aggressive, committed, shrewd, shameless.

    It also helps that someone like Pelosi can charge into a situation 90 percent of the time without worrying about the public relations aspect of whatever it is she’s trying to do at the moment, because she’s sure — and the rest of the Democratic caucus is sure — the vast majority of the media will have her back. That’s why last Sunday caught Pelosi by surprise and why someone like Trump — whose public persona had been well-defined for 30-plus years before he ran for president — has an advantage over someone like John Boehner and the mostly-faceless people in the GOP caucus.

    There’s a bit of a Pavlovian response by the GOP, which knows they’re going to have to fight the Democrats and the media on any controversial issue. Romney’s backing off attacking Candy Crowley for lying to help Obama in 2012 debate and his subsequent loss was the last straw for many, and why Trump won. He might often not pick and choose his battles best, but he will fight back, and because it fits in with the personality he’s presented to the public since 1977, he can work around the media in ways a bland persona like a John Boehner can’t.

    Meanwhile, Pelosi thought she could lard up the coronavirus bill with $600 billion in pet projects, because she thought if the GOP balked, the media would immediately slam them, forcing the normal Pavlovian backdown response. Her mistake was thinking the New York-based media was going to be OK with her potentially playing politics with their lives in delaying COVID-19 help. If this wasn’t simply a once-a-year (at best) occurrence, and Pelosi faced media scrutiny on the same level Republicans do, she’s either have to go into open combat with the press like Trump, or start backing off her biggest demands out of fear of the negative PR she and her caucus could face.

    Your observations about the media serving as public relation wizards  for the Democrats took the words right out of my keyboard.

    • #10
  11. TBA Coolidge
    TBA
    @RobtGilsdorf

    CarolJoy, Above Top Secret (View Comment):

    Jon1979 (View Comment):

    Rodin (View Comment):

    Why are Democrats more successful at being one-half of one-third? Aggressive, committed, shrewd, shameless.

    It also helps that someone like Pelosi can charge into a situation 90 percent of the time without worrying about the public relations aspect of whatever it is she’s trying to do at the moment, because she’s sure — and the rest of the Democratic caucus is sure — the vast majority of the media will have her back. That’s why last Sunday caught Pelosi by surprise and why someone like Trump — whose public persona had been well-defined for 30-plus years before he ran for president — has an advantage over someone like John Boehner and the mostly-faceless people in the GOP caucus.

    There’s a bit of a Pavlovian response by the GOP, which knows they’re going to have to fight the Democrats and the media on any controversial issue. Romney’s backing off attacking Candy Crowley for lying to help Obama in 2012 debate and his subsequent loss was the last straw for many, and why Trump won. He might often not pick and choose his battles best, but he will fight back, and because it fits in with the personality he’s presented to the public since 1977, he can work around the media in ways a bland persona like a John Boehner can’t.

    Meanwhile, Pelosi thought she could lard up the coronavirus bill with $600 billion in pet projects, because she thought if the GOP balked, the media would immediately slam them, forcing the normal Pavlovian backdown response. Her mistake was thinking the New York-based media was going to be OK with her potentially playing politics with their lives in delaying COVID-19 help. If this wasn’t simply a once-a-year (at best) occurrence, and Pelosi faced media scrutiny on the same level Republicans do, she’s either have to go into open combat with the press like Trump, or start backing off her biggest demands out of fear of the negative PR she and her caucus could face.

    Your observations about the media serving as public relation wizards for the Democrats took the words right out of my keyboard.

    Nice turn of phrase there. 

    • #11
  12. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    TBA (View Comment):
    I think it’s more about not getting rolled. Pelosi hasn’t made Dem advances, but she has slowed Republican ones. Boehner wasn’t much of an impediment which is pretty much all you can do with half of a third. 

    I agree about a half of a third.  But where did he get “rolled”?  Boehner was Speaker from 2011 to 2015.  What is the great record of legislation by the Obama Administration during that period?  I can’t find it.  Obama got so frustrated by his inability to get anything through Congress that he decided to govern with “his phone and his pen.”  Not much that Boehner could do about that, but the advantage is that anything Obama could do with “his phone and his pen,” is something that Trump could undo with his phone and his pen.  That is exactly what has been happening, and it is driving the Democrats absolutely crazy.  And that is fine by me.  Thanks John Boehner.

    • #12
  13. Addiction Is A Choice Member
    Addiction Is A Choice
    @AddictionIsAChoice

    Larry3435 (View Comment):
    Obama got so frustrated by his inability to get anything through Congress that he decided to govern with “his phone and his pen.”

    Had Obama spent less time watching ESPN and more time working with congress to codify his agenda, erasing his “legacy” would have been far more difficult. Plus, his “phone and pen” were of a piece with both his dictatorial-nature and the laziness that he himself admitted was his worst fault

    • #13
  14. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    Boehner and his House Majority Leader Eric “I represent Washington in my district” Cantor were part of the Republican #Resistance to the Tea Party.

    • #14
  15. Drusus Inactive
    Drusus
    @Drusus

    @larry3435 is exactly correct. Boehner SHUT DOWN Obama’s legislative agenda. That was all they could do, and they did it. I don’t know exactly what else you could want from them and maintain the bounds of the Constitution. 

    • #15
  16. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    Drusus (View Comment):

    @larry3435 is exactly correct. Boehner SHUT DOWN Obama’s legislative agenda. That was all they could do, and they did it. I don’t know exactly what else you could want from them and maintain the bounds of the Constitution.

    • #16
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