Tears of a clown

February 13, 2007

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who’s never showed much of anything in the way of emotion, reportedly takes this week’s floor debate over a non-binding resolution on troop escalation so seriously, he began crying about it this morning.

Boehner appeared at a stake out of House GOP leaders that featured an appearance by Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, who recounted his experience as a POW for seven years in North Vietnam, and how it was 34 years ago today that he was released from prison and had his first full day of freedom. Johnson talked about how his captors would play audio of antiwar protesters back in the United States over the loudspeakers at the prison. He drew a comparison with the message that he believes Congress is sending with this debate.

Boehner, standing by off Johnson’s right shoulder, began to shed tears. A moment later he took the microphone and — referring to Johnson’s remarks while speaking about the “solemn” nature of the debate this week — got misty all over again.

It’s true; TP has a good picture of the Minority Leader tearing up.

Now, I find it hard to believe Boehner is a good enough actor that he can start crying on cue, and so I’m not accusing him of crocodile tears, but I’m hard pressed to understand what it is that that has the Minority Leader feeling so choked up.

First, isn’t the GOP line that the Dems’ non-binding resolution is just some symbolic act that has no real meaning?

Second, if today’s debate is so “solemn,” why is it Boehner went to the House floor shortly after his emotional episode to argue that bi-partisan supporters of this resolution are taking the “bait” of “al Qaeda and terrorist sympathizers” by using Iraq to “divide us here at home”? If this week is about a grave and earnest debate, why bring such a second-rate, hack-like argument to the floor of the House?

And third, didn’t Boehner practically admit he’ll abandon Bush’s policy himself by the spring?

Greg Sargent reported just three weeks ago:

Late yesterday House GOP leader John Boehner was interviewed by CNN, and he appeared to set a deadline for President Bush to show that his “surge” strategy will succeed. He was asked the following question: “How long can you and your membership give the President and give the Iraqi military before you say, ‘You know what? You’re not doing your job.’?” Boehner’s answer: “I think it’ll be rather clear in the next 60 to 90 days as to whether this plan’s going to work.” So if the “surge” isn’t successful by Boehner’s deadline, what will he advocate then? Let’s all see if we can remember that Boehner said this, shall we?

Maybe, Boehner allies will say, the Minority Leader got emotional because of his unswerving support for the military during a time of war. But if that’s true, why did he try to shift the blame for Iraq away from Rumsfeld and onto those in uniform in November?

Any way you slice it, it’s hard to take Boehner’s new-found emotional streak seriously.

Boehner sees the Republicrooks losing bigtime in 2008 because of their steadfast support for the Worst President Ever. It’s enough to bring tears to his beady little eyes.

  • Boehner’s motive is probably part of the radical-right’s (GOP’s) agenda to “Vietnamize” the Middle East conflict. Protesters are already portrayed in terms similar to Vietnam war protesters, the inability to bomb Iran (remember bombing North Vietnam?), the evil lefties are demoralizing the troops, the godless lib’ruls won’t let us “win” in Iraq, etc., etc.
    It’s a great scam. The stage is set. They are absolving themselves of fault because it will now be the “fault” of the limp wristed, latte-sipping, cowardly Democrats and their ilk. —And we’ll have forty years of wingnut blame games.

  • Handey says It takes a big man to cry. And an even bigger man to laugh at that man. I wonder if Kerry is laughing.

    Everyone should weep for our country’s abuse by the right.

  • When he thinks of his buddy Jack in jail he always tears up. They had so much fun together and Boehner is such a sentimental guy.

  • My mother used to say that it is the shallow frivilous people who love to cry in public, cry in sad movies, and cry for attention. I cry too for all of the lives lost in this foolish war, and I cry for the lack of leadership we have all paid the price for.

  • Those “antiwar audios” back in the 60s consisted of little more than the anti-establishment/hate-the-soldier stuff that was being promoted by a very tiny, hard-left fringe of the overall antiwar movement. I don’t see any similarity between that, and what’s happening today. None of the protests are “anti-troops;” they are, instead, anti-policy. The troops are NOT “the policy,” as Bushite Rats like Boehner and”Willie-the-Weasel” Kristol would have the People believe. RacerX calls it right on the nose; these clowns know that Judgement Day (2008) is coming—and they can’t stop it….

  • Drugs and alcohol makes it very easy to tear up at the drop of a hat. But, really, just look at what Boehner says later on the house floor.
    And why am I hearing more about what GOP’s say and do than Democrats? Dems need more face and voice time ‘;cause even the least of these is better than the best of the Repukes.

  • The Vietnamization of Iraq is taking a strange twist with this odd moment from Boehner and McCain’s recent Tet Offensive remarks.

    The parallels are creapy as Bush seems to be staging another Gulf of Tonkin exercise with the three carrier groups steaming toward the Persian Gulf, wanting to broaden the conflict into Iran just as Nixon took Viet Nam into Laos and Cambodia, escalations, trying to win an unwinable war, the battle royale between competing ideologies, the list goes on …

    The only parallel between that time and this that I want to see is the president leaving his office in disgrace before the end of his term.

    The Repubs are repeating the mistakes of the past and coopting the emotions of the period. The Dems need to remind America that the Republicans of today are being the same idiots they were in Viet Nam.

  • Boo. Fucking. Hoo. Did Boneher blub when his pals Swift Boated Kerry? Doubt it. I’m also not sure how playing anti-war protests to Vietnam POWs has jack to do with Iraq. Are they saying there are some U.S. POWs in Iraq?

    Anyway, the jokes on him. To Das Base crying man = girly man.

  • You don’t suppose that just for a millisecond, John-Boy Boehner realized that the blood of 3000+ dead troops, another 8x that wounded or horribly maimed, and that of Iraqi civilians (50K to 300K–pick one) is on his and his party’s hands?

    At least he was answered on the House floor: To fight a war on terror, we need to get out of the civil war that is Iraq. John-Boy, if it was so important to win that war, you and yours should not have screwed it up at every turn.

    • Comments are closed.