Maybe the best thing I can say...

...about Eric Holder is that he's contemptuous of John Boehner's House of Representatives. He's hardly exceptional in that respect, of course, but now he's got the papers to prove it.

I confess to a degree of jealousy.

Heh™.

Via Fixer...

Good question...

…or should I say good question? From Roy Edroso...

If a celebrity can't act like a buffoon in this country, then why the hell did Beaver Cleaver fight and die in Vietnam?

Actually, what Hank Jr. said ain't so bad if you set your secret decoder ring to stun. I mean, he's not the only one who thought the Obama-Boehner golf date was a pointless excercise in symbolism while real people were hurting in ways that they weren't going to get together and do anything about, even with Biden along for the ride.

Using the particular terminology he used? Pretty dumb.

Asking Hank Williams, Jr. about national politics in the first place? Probably dumber.

Oh well, as Roy said elsewhere, our circuses really suck...

Ya' think?

Hunter...

I'm no expert on political negotiations, but it seems at some point perhaps the administration might start thinking that this Boehner fellow might be a wee bit untrustworthy.

So it seems...

From the "Not exactly news" file.

Liars lie.

Sleet? Snow? Dark of night? Trifles. Money, on the other hand...

They're crazy.

All things being equal, things aren't...

From the "Credit where it's due" file.

John Boehner is half right…erm…half correct...

"I can’t do this job unless you’re behind me.”

A koan...

...for John Boehner, via Scott Nance...

What’s the point of being speaker if you’re not truly in charge of the House?

Boehner Boner of the day.

John does a little catch up on the unseemly arrogance front. Via AFL-CIO NOW...

Today, when asked by reporters about the tens of thousands of workers who would be on the street if Boehner’s and the Republicans’ budget plan actually passed, here’s what he said.

If some of those jobs are lost, so be it.

"So be it." Sounds so much nicer than "Screw 'em," doesn't it?

The gamut…

…from feigned modesty...

"The American people have the right to think what they want to think. It's not my job to tell them."

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, saying that while he believes President Obama is a natural born American and Christian it was not his job to challenge people who think otherwise.

…to unseemly arrogance...

"The legislative agenda of Barack Obama is over."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by the Lexington Herald Leader, declaring that Republicans will only work with President Obama to do what "we think is right for America."

…the Republican leadership covers all the bases. Boehner's "Who, me?" response to the notion that as a person who holds a national leadership position, a Constitutional office, he might tell people who are wrong they are wrong because the truth is the truth. Of course, by basing his own acceptance of the truth on taking the President at his word, Boehner avoids calling out the part of his party's base that rejects the truth. If you think the President is a liar, well, you can dismiss Boehner as a dupe and remain firm in your fantasy. Don't worry about John Boehner pointing to the extensive documentary and historical record that supports what the President says as evidence that you're wrong. He doesn't care if you're wrong, because he doesn't care about the truth.

Mitch McConnell, on the other hand, while a national leader of sorts is one of a different sort than John Boehner. He's not a Constitutional officer, but a creature of the Senate rules. A lesser creature at that, being the leader of the minority. Actually, if Boehner were to declare the President's agenda dead, at least he would be speaking on behalf of a majority of the members of the House and presumably would have the votes to fairly enforce such an edict. McConnell, on the other hand, speaks on behalf of a caucus that most Americans have voted against, and from that platform assumes the role of setting the nation's course. It's not that he's wrong. He may be right. Mitch McConnell, though, is not the one to say it.

Of course, he says it with some degree of confidence not because he speaks on behalf of the American people, but because he speaks on behalf of a caucus that is committed to using any parliamentary trick, holds, filibusters, killing amendments, lies and threats to enforce its will and thwart the aspirations of the administration and of the people themselves.

That's why I keep saying...

The stuff they say…

There's this...

BOEHNER: Well, they -- they've refused to talk about America exceptionalism. We are different than the rest of the world. Why? Because Americans have -- the country was built on an idea that ordinary people could decide what their government looked like and ordinary people could elect their own leaders.

And 235 years ago that was a pretty novel idea.

Other than the outright lie about the content of President Obama's speech, a lie ably debunked by Barbara Morrill over at Daily Kos, Boehner's grasp of American history seems pretty weak for a man holding the country's third highest Constitutional office.

Just to be clear, this country was, in its inception, built on the idea that ordinary white men of property could decide who would administrate the government decided upon by an elite committee of white men of property who were drawn from an elite assembly of white men of property who were selected to represent the interests of white men of property.

235 years ago, that wasn't a bad foundation to build on. One of the best parts was that building on it, improving it, making it more habitable for more folks, was a considered part of the design. As a result, our country is a better place than it was, and holds out a promise to become better yet. That's the core of American exceptionalism to me.

Then there's former half-term governor of a large but largely empty state, Sarah Palin, making Boehner sound like David McCullough...

GRETA: Governor, last night there was a lot of discussion about the Sputnik Moment the President wants us to have. Do you agree with him? Is this our moment?

PALIN: That was another one of those WTF moments, when he has so often repeated, the Sputnik Moment, that he would aspire Americans to celebrate, he needs to remember that what happened back then with the former communist USSR and their victory and that race to space, yeah, they won, but they also incured so much debt at the time that it resulted in the inevitable collapse of the Soviet Union so I listen to that Sputnik Moment talk over and over again and I think, no we don’t need one of those.

To which one can only respond, WTF?

Boehner Boner of the day.

Via Roll Call...

Speaker John Boehner will host a cocktail party for the Republican National Committee at the same time that President Barack Obama will be addressing the nation at the memorial service for victims of the Tucson shooting.

Mmmmm, cocktails!

From the "Time files" file.

John Amato dips into the memory hole...

How quickly the Villagers forget about Boehner's transgression in Congress, when he handed out checks for the tobacco industry on the floor of the House.

From the "You can't handle the truth" file.

Via Politico...

John Boehner thinks President Barack Obama is engaging, smart and brilliant but also remains smarted by the president accusing him of taking taxpayers hostage to secure a tax break for the rich.

I note that Boehner doesn't argue that the accusations were wrong, but simply that the President was mean.

Boo hoo.

From his keyboard…

…to (insert diety here)'s monitor. Jed Lewison…

In the election, the tea partiers got what they asked for. But they won't end up getting what they want.

Elections, as they say, have consequences.

Sometimes unintended consequences.

Good questions…

The Gavel responds to the latest Boehner boner by wondering...

Which of these proposed federal regulations to protect taxpayers and consumers does Mr. Boehner think is “a great idea” to stop to give “breathing room” to the special interests?

SAFE CRIBS AND BASSINETS FOR CHILDREN: The Commission is proposing a more stringent safety standard for bassinets and cradles that will further reduce the risk of injury associated with these products.

TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING: The establishment of a free, public, website containing full disclosure of all Federal contract award information.

CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR AMERICAN AIR TRAVELERS: New action to strengthen the rights of air travelers in the event of oversales, flight cancellations and long delays, and to ensure that passengers have accurate and adequate information to make informed decisions when selecting flights.

Well?

Mean Mr. Mustard...

...made me laugh.

You know you are a teabagger when

Your dog rides in your truck, but your wife stays home and mixes ammonium nitrate.

You can remember the fertilizer, pellets and ammonium nitrate mixture ratios, but cannot recall your wife’s birthday.

You have stolen gravel from the county road to cover your AK -47 ground stash.

You shout down someone who is talking, because you believe they are trying to limit your freedom of speech.

You’ve used the same knife to whittle a shiv, and threaten your Congressman.

You have been asked to leave a yard sale.

You put the beatdown on your tattoo artist for spelling "MOM" backwards.

You hate government health care, and don’t want them to touch your Medicare.

The Rush Limbaugh show ended and you cried like John Boehner.

From the "Since you asked…" file.

Skippy inquires…

if you're on twitter (and who isn't?)…

Since you asked, me. I don't tweet. I don't text, either, or im. I blog.

If you, on the other hand, are a tweeter, you should certainly tweet john boehner @gopleader, and tell him you're an American who supports the public option, with the tag "#sickofit".

I mean, who needs Sarah…

…when there's a Boehner boner just laying there?

When U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner told a newscaster Sunday that not a single stimulus-funded road contract in his home state of Ohio had been let, he was wrong.

The Ohio Department of Transportation has OK'd 52 stimulus-funded road and bridge projects at a cost of nearly $84 million.... An ODOT spokesman called Boehner's statement "disappointing."

And Scott Varner noted that ODOT had just OK'd six more stimulus road projects which will cost about $43 million.

Can he even find Ohio on a map anymore?

Hat tip to Steve Benen.

From the "Not fast enough" file.

Minority Leader John "Boner" Boehner, whining about Nancy's team…

"They are running over us."

Faster, harder, further, please.

Well, yeah…

John "Boner" Boehner on the Gitmo internees...

"Republicans oppose releasing these terrorists or importing them into our local communities."

…Democrats do too. We're about prosecuting and imprisoning them. You know, the whole "rule of law" thing.

Of course, the residents of Florence don't consider the inmates at the Super Max part of their "local community" anyway. They don't lose any of 'em, either.