John Boehner

Obvious Gruber Reference Completely Goes Over Chris Matthews's Head
By Ken Shepherd | November 18, 2014 | 8:58 PM EST

Earlier today in a press conference, Speaker of the House John Boehner made a quip about President Obama's veto threat of a bill to authorize the Keystone XL oil pipeline which indirectly referenced Jonathan Gruber's infamous "stupidity of the American voter" line regarding the selling of ObamaCare. 

Hardball host Chris Matthews played the clip on his November 18 program, but seemed completely oblivious as to its meaning, instead using the remark as an opportunity to demand Keystone supporter Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) to denounce Boehner's supposed ad hominem attack on environmentalists who oppose building the pipeline.

AP's Werner Channels CBS's Cordes in Covering New 'Zealous' House Members
By Tom Blumer | November 9, 2014 | 10:40 AM EST

Saturday morning, Erica Werner at the Associated Press, aka the Administratino's Press, channeled her inner Nancy Cordes to play "gotcha" with Republicans who won election to the House on Tuesday.

Werner's report essentially regurgitated Cordes's petulance in the CBS reporter's question directed at House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday. Cordes identified supposedly stupid or ill-advised things some of the incoming freshmen have said in the past, while of course not identifying a single similar thing a sitting Democratic Party congressman has said on the floor of the House or in House committee hearings during their tenures. Excerpts follow the jump (bolds and numbered tags are mine):

AP Pair Pretends Obama and Staff Were Interested in 'Cooperation' at Friday Lunch
By Tom Blumer | November 8, 2014 | 10:05 AM EST

Late Friday afternoon, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Washington got their first taste of what they will likely see from the supposedly "objective" reporters at the Associated Press, aka the Administration's Press, as they cover their relationship with President Obama and his White House apparatachiks during the next two years.

The headline at a story by Nedra Pickler and Erica Wener ("Immigration dispute erupts at White House lunch") and that story's first seven words ("A White House lunch aiming for cooperation") are fundamentally dishonest and untrue, respectively. The article's later text proves both of my contentions.

Scarborough, Heilemann to GOP: Ignore Rush, Do Deals With Obama
By Mark Finkelstein | November 7, 2014 | 8:11 AM EST

Rush Limbaugh likes to say that when the liberal media says "talk radio," they mean him.  Rush's point was perfectly illustrated on today's Morning Joe.  John Heilemann first spoke of "talk radio  . . . howling" at Boehner and McConnell not to capitulate to President Obama.  Just a moment later, Heilemann made explicitly clear whom he had in mind: "you got to listen to Rush Limbaugh for just one day right now."

Then it was Joe Scarborough's turn to fulminate: "I keep hearing Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh." The message that Heilemann and Scarborough had for Republicans was clear: ignore Rush and do deals with President Obama.  Specifically on immigration, Scarborough suggested that Republicans not "capitulate" but "work with the president and meet in the middle." 

NBC Plays Up Both Sides as 'Digging In'; Ignores Obama's Coolness to GOP Policy Goals
By Curtis Houck | November 7, 2014 | 12:47 AM EST

On Thursday night, NBC Nightly News played up the current political state of affairs in Washington as both Republicans and Democrats having “dug in” to their policy preferences, but focused only on how Republicans want to repeal “the President’s signature accomplishment” and are angered that he will go through with an executive order on illegal immigration. 

Anchor Brian Williams first teased the upcoming segment by NBC News senior White House correspondent Chris Jansing by wondering “how's that cooperation going that everybody promised after the election results.”

Cordes Hypes New Conservatives on Boehner's 'Far Right Flank' as Destructive on Illegal Immigration
By Curtis Houck | November 6, 2014 | 9:18 PM EST

During Thursday’s CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley, Nancy Cordes continued to disparage conservatives, as she referred to some of the newly elected House of Representatives members as being to Speaker John Boehner’s “far right flank” and joining returning Representatives who stifled “Boehner’s own attempts” to address illegal immigration (that President Obama will now act upon in an expected executive order). 

Her choice of words regarding conservatives comes after she badgered Boehner at his weekly press conference earlier in the day, during which she asked him how he will “deal with” this “new crop of conservatives” that she portrayed as having said “among other things, that women need to submit to the authority of their husbands, that Hillary Clinton is the anti-Christ” and “don’t think you’re conservative enough.”

Conceding GOP Takeover, NYT Works to Strangle Conservative Principles at Birth
By Clay Waters | October 23, 2014 | 11:53 PM EDT

Having pretty much conceded big Republican gains of the U.S. Senate, the New York Times is working to strangle any ideological gains the GOP might make, whether the issue be immigration or economics. The latest example: Jackie Calmes' front-page story Thursday, "Economists See Limited Gains in G.O.P. Plan."

Does MSNBC's Sharpton Think GOP Runs the Senate?
By Ken Shepherd | September 10, 2014 | 11:00 PM EDT

As an MSNBC panel discussed congressional reticence with President Obama's strategy pertaining to ISIS, the Rev. Al Sharpton jumped in with a challenge to John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to call floor votes on congressional authorization for action against the terror group. 

The Press Should Not Assume That the Debt Ceiling Won't Be Hit Until 'End of 2012' or in 'More Than Eight Months'
By Tom Blumer | May 27, 2012 | 10:09 PM EDT

A Los Angeles Times editorial on May 23, naturally accompanied by a dour photo of House Speaker John Boehner, stated as if it's an indisputable fact that the August 2011 debt deal raised the ceiling by "enough to last until the end of 2012 or early 2013." A Saturday AP report by Ken Thomas and Jim Kuhnhenn so filled with distortions that it's virtually unreadable asserted, again as if it's a no-doubt fact, that hitting the limit is "more than eight months away," putting the ceiling-busting date at about January 31, 2013. Just a few of many other examples with late-December or later assumptions baked in are here (to be fair, this one frames it as a Geithner estimation), here, and here.

The real numbers, combined with the experience of the past two years, indicate that there is a good chance not only that we're not going to be that lucky, but that the government could even hit the ceiling before Election Day.

Colin Powell Blames Media and 'Especially' Cable TV for Nasty Tone in Politics Today
By Noel Sheppard | May 26, 2012 | 10:04 AM EDT

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday blamed the media and "especially" cable television for the nasty tone in politics today.

Such occurred during a discussion with Jay Leno on NBC's Tonight Show (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Actual AP Headline: 'Is GOP Trying to Sabotage Economy to Hurt Obama?'
By Noel Sheppard | May 21, 2012 | 9:24 AM EDT

With less than six months to go before Election Day, the Obama-loving media's advocacy has passed shameful and is now approaching downright unimaginable.

On Saturday, the Associated Press actually published a piece with the headline, "Is GOP Trying to Sabotage Economy to Hurt Obama?":

CBS’s Schieffer Derides Boehner for Tying Debt Ceiling Hike to Spending Cuts: ‘Was He Kidding?’
By Brent Baker | May 20, 2012 | 5:23 PM EDT

The Sunday interview show hosts all reacted with disbelief toward House Speaker John Boehner’s pledge to demand spending cuts equal to the debt ceiling increase, with CBS’s Bob Schieffer the most derisive as he declared “it was a week when you couldn’t believe your ears” because, when Boehner said the same thing last year, “Congress tied itself in such a knot that America’s credit rating was downgraded, not to mention Congress’ approval rating which hit a new low. And now he wants to fight the same battle? Was he kidding?”

Schieffer rued: “Does this mean we’re headed towards another of those nasty ‘stop everything’ political standoffs in an election year?”