Tweet
Speaker of the House John Boehner, having been on the recieving end of the political hot potato that the Obama Administration tossed into his lap released a statement that’s delirious and hilarious in its irony:
A spokesman for Boehner’s office criticized the administration change of position.
‘While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the President will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation,’ said spokesman Brendan Buck.”
Hilarious! While Boehner’s tenure as Speaker has been characterized by his furious search for jobs in the wombs of women who wish to make their own reproductive choices, he’s accusing Obama of “stirring up controversy” by essentially, ceding a fight.
The Obama administration just very wisely cleared their plate of this “controversial issue,” Speaker Boehner. If this issue continues to generate controversy, it will be because members of your own caucus stepped up and did what the Department of Justice is no longer inclined to do: Defend DOMA in Court.
So, if you decry the continued controversy on this issue, Speaker Boehner, put the weight of your office behind that sentiment: Tell your caucus to let this go. Tell the House Republicans not to defend DOMA. And then, absent anyone to defend DOMA, the controversy will go away.
The ball’s in your Court Speaker.
Do you want to concentrate on jobs? Or do you want your caucus to step up and defend DOMA?
19 Comments
Curious….Why did you see fit to have a picture of one of those little candy pumpkins (dozens of which always somehow find their way into my mouth around Halloween) accompany this post? Where’s the Boehner?
He should ask his Republican collegues the same questionSo why are Republicans across the nation filing and passing anti union and anti marriage bills when they should be focusing on cutting waste and fraud within the government?
Amen
I think that is an Oompa Loompa, not a pumpkinI might be wrong, though.
Umm, Mr. Boner: I have a questionThe President has said that he will no longer spend millions of dollars to defend an unconstitutional law, money that is now freed up for other projects like bailing out Wall Street bankers and busting unions in Wisconsin. You know, things that the GOP keep screeching are important. So what’s the problem here?
My thoughts exactlyI had the same thought when I read this quote this afternoon–this isn’t stirring something up, it’s letting it go, finally.
PoliticaJohn Boehner’s Made Of Fail Statement On DOMAYep! John, Your doing a great job as speaker of the house! You want to spend how much on a policy that is indefensible? Yea! Your with it …… NOT!
GAGThe GOP has for years used visceral issues like guns, abortion & gays to boil the political pot. Now that the economy has eclipsed at least one of these ploys Boehner is whining. What inanity.
Never mind their first big ideas…The GOP members of the House came up with two big bills “to fight the deficit”: repealing Obama’s center-right healthcare bill, and (of course) more tax cuts for rich people. When even the GOP’s two “deficit reduction” ideas would both amount to multi-hundred-billion-dollar increases in the deficit, I think it’s safe to say that Republicans have no shame, and any attempt to appeal to such (or to basic humanity) is hopeless.
Actually…I think its Witchiepoo – if Witchiepoo transitioned from female to male and then got a substandard tailor.
the baskerville hound that didn’t barkDid the Speaking Boner, anywhere today, speak about the other ODOJ announcement? That they won’t defend Wolfowitz or Rumsfeld in Padilla’s lawsuit against them? Or is the Bush Administration, er, “Gone with the wind”?
… so one cannibal says to the other, “I agree. He was a very bitter man.”
SadWhat a sad picture.
Trying to solve the quandarySpeaker Boehner pronounces his name “Bay-ner” rather than “Boh-ner” as it sounds when read – the “oeh” portion is properly pronounced as a long O. Still, I think it means we have to seriously consider changing our pronunciation of the word “boner” (in both its meaning as a terrible mistake, and as a term used as a euphemism for a turgid male member) so that it is pronounced as “bay-ner” in honor of this man, who as speaker is certainly the most turgid male member of Congress since his predecessor “Dick” Armey.
Perhaps Speaker Boehner takes his title as “speaker” way too literally – after all, he does not have to speak unless he has something to say, but he prefers to go yakity-yak with his nonsense to pass the time of day and to assert his self-important feelings.
Certainly, Speaker Bay-ner’s statement is yet another huge bay-ner – after all, the House of Representatives has not done a thing to advance a jobs agenda, like passing a fully-inclusive ENDA. The only thing I have seen was a lame reading of the Constitution that skipped over the embarrassing parts that should have been read to teach the Republicans in Congress a lesson (the 3/5ths compromise part, for example). I have seen a House poised to pass all sorts of really bad and divisive legislation to put women in “their place” and abolish reproductive rights and slash funding for programs for the poor and especially for poor children, to the extent they can manage to make sure fewer women are able to be in the workplace and end up even poorer on less adequate public assistance. What they really want is to have all these unwanted babies grow up to live a life of crime – this way the Republicans can show their “law and order” side in the same breath as a “jobs” side – creating jobs for more police, more prison guards and fueling the prison-industrial complex in the same way they already fuel the military-industrial complex.
When the House is controlled by such evil people as this horribly turgid Bay-ner, we are just going to have to deal with it until 2012. I hope by that time a significant reaction willunfold that will swamp the bad people out of office and bring in better ones.
Question? Can just one(1) house of Congress Defend DOMA in the Courts?
or must BOTH houses agree to defend it?
Or CAN THEY even step in and defend it at all?
The great thing is that no matter what happens, DOMA is surely dead, and the Republicans can’t do anything about it.
Soooo, how long for this court process to resolve????????
Nationwide, it will be a while. In district TWO it should happen sooner. and we would love to have Ninth Circuit just throw out the stay and let marriages happen again tomorrow in CA! and maybe the whole circuit!.
Nothing sad abou it at all… It is his best 'put on' view per his handlers. Love the tone! Good work whoever did it.
GOOD ONE! SHARING!!
The House and Senate are different legal entiessee, for example: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/…
I don’t think I can answer your other questions. Both cases are in the early stages, and if another party successfully joined, it could delay the proceedings.
Finally, note that this is about DOMA section 3. DOMA section 2 probably wouldn’t be affected, although I think that strong rulings against Section 3 would likely make it much easier to get Section 2 ruled against in future cases.
I believe just one HouseAnd likely not even a majority. They might be able to find a way to empower a “special defender” (like a special prosecutor) to defend DOMA on behalf of “Congress.”
I would not get my hopes up that these cases will be resolved due to a lack of defense.
What is good is the Defense will have to contend with the Plaintiffs drawing attention to the opinion of the Department of Justice itself saying they are wrong. And that will hold real wait with Justices.
And of course we saw in the Prop 8 trial how woefully outgunned the right wing can be when defending these laws. We can only hope Maggie Gallahager and NOM play a key role in selecting the attorney that takes these cases on. Maybe Chris Cooper will reprise his epic loss on Prop 8? Fingers crossed!