WELL, HE'S SORTA RIGHT

JOHN BOEHNER


So, the majority leader in the House of Representatives shared an interesting insight on CNN yesterday. During a discussion on the Situation Room, John Boehner revealed that Donald Rumsfeld shouldn't be blamed for what's happening in Iraq. That would be the same Donald Rumsefeld who is the Secretary of Defense of the United States. He sort of runs the Pentagon. And the Pentagon sort of runs of the military. The military that's currently bogged down in Iraq. Here's the actual exchange, courtesy of Americablog:

GOP HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER JOHN BOEHNER: Let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.

WOLF BLITZER: But he's in charge of the military.

BOEHNER: But the fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge, and he works closely with them and the president.

So, is Boehner actually saying that the buck stops somewhere well short of the boss? I know, I know, it's nothing short of shocking that a Republican would seek to place blame somewhere other than where it firmly belongs, but alas another case has arisen.
Disregarding for a moment that Boehner is apparently seeking to impugn the "generals on the ground" and, by extension, the very troops who have shed their blood defending this nation, what I actually find curious is that Boehner may actually have a point, at least as far as his first remark goes. While a sizable majority of the blame should fall squarely on the shoulders of Rumsfeld, the ultimate culpability should lie with his boss, one George Bush. Of course, Bush threw out Harry Truman's truism of accountability the second he moved into the Oval Office, but that will never absolve the decider of his accountability in this egregious debacle.

SIMPLY THE BEST

JOHN BOEHNER


In an effort to undermine any credibility he may or may not possess, John Boehner appeared on This Week this week and claimed that Don Rumsfeld is the best thing that happened to the Pentagon in 25 years.
Let's all take a look back in time 25 years ago. The year was 1981 and Reagan had been in office for under a year. Now, what has happened over the last 25 years that might have been a pretty good deal from the Pentagon? Off the top of my head a couple of things come to mind. They coordinated the whole first Gulf War thing which turned out okay. I bet they had something to do with the Panama/Noriega invasion/snatch business which turned out pretty good. I'd be willing to bet that at least some part of the Pentagon had something to do with the whole fall of communism thing, and that was definitely not too shabby.
Yet Boehner, in his infinite wisdom, feels that a failed and out of control war in Iraq, coupled with the de facto abandonment of the "war on terrah" in Afghanistan is actually a good thing. Or rather, the best thing that has happened to the Pentagon in 25 years.
I'm actually not sure that the America could survive another two years of GOP-controlled government what with imbiciles like this spouting off this kind of drivel.

ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING?
JOHN BOEHNER


Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Majority Leader for the United States House of Representatives, John Boehner. On a recent episode of Hardball, Boehner was asked questions about Iraq by an unusually fiesty Chris Matthews. In the interview, Boehner insisted that Saddam Hussein provided what he kept calling "indirect" support for the 9/11 terrorists (though he would never define what the hell "indirect" actually meant after being asked several times by Matthews). He also claimed that Saddam really really really did have weapons of mass destruction, we just "haven't found them yet."
It's just amazing that even after all this time and all the evidence and testimony and other sources of information that have come out over the last three years that Boehner would have the never to appear on national television and insult the American public by pushing the garbage. Underneath a growing mountain of evidence the contrary, assholes like Boehner are still screaming at the top of their lungs to pay no attention to what your eyes tell you. It's disgraceful.
Matthews also questioned why there haven't been any oversight hearings and Boehner incredulously claimed that we conduct oversight every day. What?! I'm no regular viewer of C-SPAN, but I think that I'd remember if some form of oversight hearing had been held. Of course, none have been held. Senate Minority Leader said this on the matter:

"During the Civil War, President Lincoln was faced continually with oversight hearings by his Congress. Of course, we know during World War II, there were a number of commissions. The most famous was that conducted by Senator Harry Truman of Missouri, which led to his becoming Vice President. Some say, but for that he would not have been chosen as Vice President."
What was the Truman Commission? It was to determine what was going on with World War II. Was money being wasted? Were troop levels right? Korean war hearings were also held, and the same for the Vietnam war. But for this war, none--even though this war has taken longer than it took to settle the differences in the European theater in World War II. Soon it will be the same amount of time that we were able to beat Japan."

It's this type of stuff that highlights how important it will be for the Democrats to take control of at least one chamber of Congress this November. Men like Boehner have proven that they have no business leading this country. He and his ilk are nothing but hacks and America deserves better.
Oh, Crooks and Liars has the video. It's amazing to see, I highly recommend it.