by Clarence Page
Last spring, as President
The phrase is a reference to a satirical 1998 Warren Beatty movie about a Democratic senator who risks his job by telling the public what he really thinks.
In real life, it is House Speaker
Defending a budget deal brokered by Rep.
"I think they're pushing our members in places where they don't want to be. And frankly, I just think they've lost all credibility," he told reporters. "They pushed us into the fight to defund Obamacare and to shut down the government ... the day before the government reopened, one of these groups said, 'Well, we never thought it would work.' Are you kidding me?"
Actually, if you have seen the video of that sound bite, you know that Boehner abruptly exclaimed that last sentence with a surprising fury that normal writing rules fail to convey or, as
Boehner's crack was a direct shot, without naming names, at Heritage Action CEO
Yet, repealing the Affordable Care Act was the main stated goal of conservatives in the standoff that led to the partial government shutdown and a near-default of the nation's credit obligations.
In the end, the shutdown needlessly damaged congressional approval ratings while ironically distracting public attention from the Obama administration's biggest self-inflicted wound: the health care law's botched
Even so, Heritage Action,
The bill brokered by Ryan and Murray sets a budget for the government for the next two years, taking away the threat of a shutdown in January -- and ending the cycle of budget crises that have plagued
Predictably the outside right-wingers howled that the new budget didn't cut taxes and spending enough, but Boehner had heard enough from them. After his strong public stand, the House passed the bill 332 to 94, including a 169-to-62 majority of Republicans.
Could Boehner be biting the hands that feed him and his party? Maybe. But what aggravates
Conservative pressure groups have taken on exaggerated importance as more
Some have compared Boehner's rebuke to
But unlike Beale, Sen. Bulworth has long been a part of the system that he decries. He speaks out partly because he is disgusted with how much he has let the system corrupt him. I heard more Bulworth than Beale in Boehner's frustrated voice.
He decided that trying to appease outside groups no longer was worth the price to his party or the nation. It would be nice to hear more real-life lawmakers show such Bulworth-worthy courage, if that's not asking too much.