In The Blogs

Meet John Boehner

| Fri Feb. 3, 2006 3:48 PM PST

Putting aside the obvious irony of selecting someone from Ohio to clean up the Republican Party's ethical problems, it seems like a good idea to take a look at who John Boehner, the new House Majority Leader, is. Boehner emerged, of course, in a role most had considered destined for Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri. Blunt, however, turned out to be too close to outgoing Majority Leader Tom DeLay for comfort, and Republican House members went with a safer choice.

How much safer? Boehner has taken more than $157,000 worth of free trips, placing him 7th among 638 current and former members of Congress in the last five years in acceptance of privately funded travel. Two dozen of his former staff members have gone from working for him to getting jobs as lobbyists or corporate public affairs specialists. Boehner preceded DeLay as the head of the K Street Operation, and, of course, he is famous for handing out tobacco company PAC checks on the floor of Congress.

Boehner is extremely conservative. Here are his ratings on major issues:

NARAL--0% (reproductive rights)
ACLU--7% (civil liberties)
CURE--30% (crime rehabilitation)
NEA--17% (public education)
LCV--5% (environment)
SANE--22% (military action)
FAIR--0% (immigration advocacy)
US COC--100% (business)
AFL-CIO--7% (labor)
ARA--0% (senior advocacy)
APHA--0% (public health)

His more moderate scores:

CATO--50% (free trade)
NTU--63% (tax reform)

And finally:

Christian Coalition--91%

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Comments

Submitted by tbobthoughtsmore.blogspot.com (not verified) on Fri Feb. 10, 2006 7:54 PM PST.

Boehner is just another iteration of Tom DeLay and he will do the same things. I had hopes that the republicans were going to 'straighten up and fly right',but alas that is not to be and I should have known that the party of corruption would not change. Those democrats have a good phrase to use, now if they could only find the path. I could give them some clues but nobody listens so why bother. They will just have to figure it out for themselves.

Meanwhile back to Boehner&Co. I am sure he will work closely with Bush&Co. to warp America so it conforms to their own weird and unpatriotic view of how we Americans should exist under their 'management'. Ohio, my state I am ashamed to admit, is a hotbed of radical republican thinking. Yes, I said radical, these people are not conservatives as they wish to make radical changes to America. I am a conservative they are right wing radicals and religious fundamentalists. They are the jihadists of America.

Mr Shaddeg of Arizona would have been a much better choice but the republicans were afraid of him because he might just do 'the right thing', namely what is good for America not just what is good for the Republican Party.

Republicans have their own agenda and patriotism. They do only whats good for the Republican Party not what needs to be done for America and their patriotism is to the Republican Party