"Idiots," "Anarchists," and "Assholes": John Boehner Unloads on Republicans
Last edited Wed Mar 6, 2019, 11:42 PM - Edit history (1)
(I just realized that this article is from October 30, 2017--but it just showed up this evening in one of my news feeds. My apologies.)
From Vanity Fair: “Idiots,” “Anarchists,” and “Assholes”: John Boehner Unloads on Republicans in Post-Retirement Interview
Despite his remove, Boehner has been following Trump's ascendance with a critical eye. “Everything else he’s done (in office) has been a complete disaster,” the former Speaker told the Associated Press over the summer. “He’s still learning how to be president.” And as Politico discovered in a long-form interview with Boehner, the Ohio Republican is still haunted by the idea that he paved the way for Trump's takeover of the G.O.P. That idea may have some merit—he was, after all, part of the party's first wave of outsider populism when he was elected in 1994—but in over 18 hours of conversation with Politico’s Tim Alberta, Boehner, now golfing frequently and ironing his underwear in peace, opened up about his frustration with today's Republican party:
On Trump's impact:
When I ask Boehner whether the Republican Party can survive this, he cuts me off. “There is no Rep—.” He stops himself. “You were about to say, ‘There is no Republican Party,’” I tell him. He shrugs. “There is. But what does it even mean? Donald Trump’s not a Republican. He’s not a Democrat. He’s a populist. He doesn’t have an ideological bone in his body.” So who, I ask, is the leader of the party? “There is nobody,” he says.
On Ryan's legislative prowess
“So I get a text from 43 about a month ago, maybe six weeks ago.” Boehner’s close friend Ed, who joined our nightcap, interjects: “Off the record?” Boehner waves him off: “It doesn’t matter.” He lets out a thick cough, smoke escaping his mouth, and continues. “So 43 says, ‘Hey, are you talking to Ryan? Are you giving him advice?’ I said, ‘Yeah, if he calls I give him advice.’” Boehner takes a long, satisfied drag. “And he texts me back: ‘He needs to call you more.’”
On the House Freedom Caucus, whose members at times have stubbornly resisted the G.O.P.'s legislative agenda:
“They can’t tell you what they’re for. They can tell you everything they’re against. They’re anarchists. They want total chaos. Tear it all down and start over. That’s where their mindset is.”
On Freedom Caucus co-founder Rep. Mark Meadows:
“He’s an idiot. I can’t tell you what makes him tick.”
On Freedom Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Jordan:
“Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator going back to his days in the Ohio House and Senate … A terrorist. A legislative terrorist.”
On former House Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz:
Boehner’s beef with Chaffetz, who would later join Fox News as a paid contributor, is not personal—just that he’s a “total phony” who possessed legislative talent but focused mostly on self-promotion. “With Chaffetz,” Boehner says, “it’s always about Chaffetz.”
On Jordan and Chaffetz, combined:
“Fuck Jordan. Fuck Chaffetz. They’re both assholes.”
On Trey Gowdy, current House Oversight Committee chairman:
“Gowdy — that’s my guy, even though he doesn’t know how to dress.”
On who's to blame for today's deep partisan divide:
“People thought in ’09, ’10, ’11, that the country couldn’t be divided more. And you go back to Obama’s campaign in 2008, you know, he was talking about the divide and healing the country and all of that. And some would argue on the right that he did more to divide the country than to unite it. I kind of reject that notion.” Why is that? “Because it wasn’t him!” Boehner replies. “It was modern-day media, and social media, that kept pushing people further right and further left. People started to figure out … they could choose where to get their news. And so what do people do? They choose places they agree with, reinforcing the divide.”
On said modern-day media:
“I always liked Rush [Limbaugh]. When I went to Palm Beach I would always meet with Rush and we’d go play golf. But you know, who was that right-wing guy, [Mark] Levin? He went really crazy right and got a big audience, and he dragged [Sean] Hannity to the dark side. He dragged Rush to the dark side. And these guys—I used to talk to them all the time. And suddenly they’re beating the living shit out of me.” Boehner, seated in his favorite recliner, lights another cigarette. “I had a conversation with Hannity, probably about the beginning of 2015. I called him and said, ‘Listen, you’re nuts.’ We had this really blunt conversation. Things were better for a few months, and then it got back to being the same-old, same-old. Because I wasn’t going to be a right-wing idiot.”
= new reply since forum marked as read
thought that went out of style in the 1950s!
Cult members need to know that they can leave, and high profile people they knew can show them the way.
Either that or he’s been stealing from the company store ( he now lobbys for legal weed ).
I kinda like the guy. Back in the good ole days, before GOP became Rico
I used to hate the guy - I called him John Boner! And I hated #43 also, yeah, "W" was terrible, or so I thought.
And then..................
Boehner has an easy time blaming others because of where it has all gone, but he does not escape blame. His style and direction of leadership helped get us to where we are now. He, along with McTurtle, spent all of PRESIDENT OBAMA'S administration fighting any initiative the president proposed. Their "anti-Obama" policies became a model of government leadership that has grown into the disaster that we have now.
The "people" don't count - only "big business" and $$$$$$$ matter.
Sorry, John, you do not get a pass for that which you helped build. 
To quote an old friend of his, who cares what he thinks?
And it seems like it was only yesterday when he and Nancy Pelosi first met
rocktivity
