"After Railing Against Government Spending, Speaker Boehner Can’t Name One Program He Would Cut"

[Clio the Leo]

After Railing Against Government Spending, Speaker Boehner Can’t Name One Program He Would Cut

Campaigning before the recent midterm elections, House Republicans were adamant that, if given power, they would cut government spending. However, when pressed for specifics, many were unable to list even one single item they would cut from the budget. “The line-item will be across-the-board,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) embarrassingly responded when asked for specific cuts.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) was no stranger to the promise to cut government spending. In fact, he promised over and over for months to do everything he could to reduce the budget.

<snip>

However, now that he holds the speaker’s gavel, it seems that Boehner is no better than his colleagues at actually identifying specifics in the budget that he would like to see eliminated. In an interview set to air tonight, NBC’s Brian Williams asked Boehner to name a specific item he’d cut, and Boehner couldn’t deliver:

WILLIAMS: Name a program right now that we could do without.

BOEHNER: I don’t think I have one off the top of my head.

Watch it:
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/01/06/boehner-cuts/

[DeSwiss]

1. No one should be surprised. He's an idiot. - K&R n/t

[mindwalker_i]

2. He's not the idiot

Republicans amped the rhetoric about the debt to absurdly high proportions so people would be afraid of it. The, Repubs promised they would save everybody from what they had turned into a monstrous problem in order to get voted into office. The debt problem is nowhere near as big as they claim and they know it - it was just a way to get votes. Solving the "crisis" was never a serious goal either.

The whole thing is abundantly obvious, because Republicans don't talk about how they created the debt: tax breaks for the rich, wars, billions lost in those wars and they didn't care at all about that. They don't talk about anything that will actually reduce the debt, like ending the wars, letting tax breaks expire, and in fact have no problem adding to the debt with more tax breaks. Instead, they use the debt "crisis" to kill off the same programs they've always wanted to kill off anyway.

Who's the idiot?

[DeSwiss]

4. "Who's the idiot?"

Anyone who calls themselves a Republican.


- Of this I am certain.

[mindwalker_i]

10. I was thinking anyone who listens to a Republican

and actually believes them.

There is more than ample evidence, plus the rather obvious conclusion from above, that Republican are talking out of their collective ass (quasar-sized).

[kiranon]

3. Everytime Repubs say won't vote for something unless funds found

to pay for it, Democrats should propose doing away with one or another tax break for the wealthy to cover it.

[unblock]

5. he would cut any program democrats dare to propose, of course.

[progressoid]

6. Big fuckin surprise.

[Ozymanithrax]

7. Actually, he wants to cut health care and will vote that way next week.

Of course, that will increase the deficit, but what they hell.

Heard today, that they know that will not work and will be passing more bills throughout the year to repeal separate parts of the Health Care Legislation.

[golfguru]

8. I can name ONE program which is bloated, wasteful & unproductive

and it is the 2 wars and 800 (yes Eight hundred) US military bases
around the world. If those bases were closed and the quagmire in Afghanistan
ended and ALL troops withdrawn from Iraq & Afghanistan, there would be no need
to cut Social Security and Medicare, ever.

[jberryhill]

9. Geez - even Palin fixated on "Fruit fly research in Paris, France!"

A/k/a protecting US agriculture from foreign pests with genetic research.

[glinda]

11. He will take his marching order form Koch on where to cut so of

course he doesn't know anything. Same with Bachman, Palin and all of their kind.