Orange Glowing Minority Leader trashes "irresponsible" teacher aid while pimping Bush Tax Cuts

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010 17:11 ET

Let them play golf

Boehner trashes aid bill as "a bailout to teachers unions" but backs tax cuts for the rich. Plus: Gibbs or Cheney? Video

By Joan Walsh

http://www.salon.com/news/john_boehner/index.html?story=/opinion/walsh/politics/2010/08/10/john_boehner_let_them_play_golf



It's been a rough week for House Minority Leader John Boehner. On Tuesday he denounced the $26 billion state-aid bill, to stop the layoffs of teachers and other public employees, saving 300,000 jobs, as "irresponsible" and a "bailout to the teachers unions." (Remember? Frank Luntz told the boys that the public hates "bailouts.") "We are broke!" Boehner declared. But only two days earlier, Leader Boehner told David Gregory on "Meet the Press" that we have to extend the Bush tax breaks for the wealthy, which would seem irresponsible if we're really broke.

Even Republicans like former Reagan budget director David Stockman and former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan have warned that the country can't afford the tax cuts. Rocking a splendid tan, Boehner just kept running away from Gregory's questions:

GREGORY: How can you be for cutting the deficit and also cutting taxes, as well, when they're not paid for?

BOEHNER: Listen, you can't raise taxes in the middle of a weak economy without risking the double-dip in this recession. President Obama's favorite Republican economist, Mark Zandi, came out several weeks ago and made it clear that raising taxes at this point in, in the economy is a very bad idea.

GREGORY: But do you agree that tax cuts cannot be paid for...

BOEHNER: You cannot balance the budget without a...

GREGORY: But tax cuts are not paid for, is that correct?

BOEHNER: I am not for raising taxes on the American people in a soft economy.

GREGORY: That's not the question, Leader Boehner. The question...

BOEHNER: And the people that the president wants to tax ...

GREGORY: ... is, are tax cuts paid for or not?

BOEHNER: Listen, what you're trying to do is get into this Washington game and their funny accounting over there. You cannot get the economy going again by raising taxes on those people who we expect to create jobs in America and to get the economy going again. If we want to solve the budget problem, we've got to have a healthy economy and we have to get our arms around the runaway spending that's going on in Washington, D.C.

[mike_c]

1. did he have an accident at the tanning salon...

...or is he just cheaping out on cosmetics? That's not a natural color for a human. Oh, wait....

[CurtEastPoint]

4. Check out those orange GAMS!

[Faygo Kid]

2. Orange Glo. Sounds about right. Except for that "fresh scent" part.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. I think teachers should get orange man by the throat

he wants to get hard earned taxpayers money to the rich. The rich just send their millions to offshore banks