“Go fuck yourself!”
—House Speaker John Boehner to a surprised Senator Harry Reid last week at the White House, apparently in response to Reid’s comments to reporters that Boehner was “a dictator.”
If Boehner is going to talk like that, we might as well have Ron Burgundy as Speaker. At least he’s funny.
Stay classy, Mr. Speaker.
Admittedly, there are few individuals on Capitol Hill more deserving of such a rebuke than Sen. Reid, but Speaker Boehner is obligated not to be the agent delivering it. Such personal incivility is inexcusable no matter how insulted Boehner felt, and no matter how high tensions were running during the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. Americans should expect their elected officials to conduct themselves with the dignity, honor and civility their positions demand. When they stoop to vulgarity and pure invective, they not only disgrace themselves, but also shame their high offices, the institutions in which they serve, and the nation.
Boehner is duty bound to apologize to Sen. Reid, his own party, Congress, his constituency, and the American people, for treating the serious business of the United States of America as if it were a gutter pissing match. Such inexcusable incivility is one of the primary factors in poisoning our policy process, and a significant reason for the failure of the government to address such problems as the deficit and the national debt.
Speaker Boehner’s lack of self-control, manners and decorum show him to be a detriment to Congress and the culture, and he ought to resign his post as Speaker.
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Source: The Weekly Standard
Ethics Alarms 
Well stated. There is a precedent, and your closing sentence should have applied to then-VP Cheney when he said the same thing to Sen. Patrick Leahy.
I should have been clear: he should resign as Speaker. His distinct elected him, and it has a right to see him finish his term. I would also say that Cheney should have been reprimanded, but having a President or VP, elected by the people, resign over a few words is excessive. The Speaker isn’t elected. I fixed it.
Agreed. But one can dream….
As Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid has been, by most accounts, a bully when he hasn’t been either intransigent (by refusing to debate bills passed by the House).
Boehner finally stood up the bully. The real lack of ethics is the amount of time it took him to do so.
Ugh. “Go fuck yourself” isn’t standing up to anyone. It’s just abuse, and two wrongs don’t make a right, any more than tow jerks make one competent national leader.. If that’s the best “standing up” he can do, he’s hopeless.
“You lie!” could be added to this list of intemperate outbursts, in my humble opinion. This may be a trite observation, but I think it is still true: when all one can muster up as a rebuttal is railing off expletives to your opponent, then you have less than nothing in terms of credibility or relevance. This kind of verbal punctuation is the domain for those without acute, critical thinking skills.
“You lie!” was, and he should have been sanctioned by both the House and the Republicans, and told not to run for reelection. That was horrible.
Not to me, Jack. I have it plastered on my rear bumper!
I agree it was rude, and an apology is in order, but i don’t think he should resign. This is not (as far as I know) a pattern, but an isolated incident. Everyone should be judged by more than just their worst moments. (Unless their worst moment is something like a rape or murder).
Human beings sometimes slip up and say something intemperate. A simple human failing like that is something we should all be able to forgive.
Actually, having just gone over and read the article, what I think is far worse than swearing (anyone can lose their temper) is that, according to the article, he later bragged about the incident to his colleagues. That, to me, is what’s really classless behavior.
Yes, that bothered me as well. But you know, anyone can’t lose their temper. Say “fuck you” to a judge, and a lawyer gets disbarred. Say “Fuck You” to my mother, and I would have been stuffed in the glove compartment by my father. Professionals should be capable of controlling themselves. He gets no pass from me. I have as much of a temper as anyone, and I’ve never said “Fuck you” to a colleague, a client or an employer. I’ve wanted to, though.
I can’t believe I’m defending Boehner!
I’ve never said “fuck you” to a colleague, client or employer (except in jest). But if one lost his temper and said “fuck you” to me, I’d forgive that, assuming that the behavior was not typical.
I think there’s just something unethical about an unforgiving world, where minor infractions can never be forgiven or gotten past. Or maybe it’s not unethical – you’re the expert, not me. But it definitely doesn’t sound like a world that I want to live in.
(Again, I’m not saying that he shouldn’t apologize. He definitely should. I’m just pushing back against the idea that losing your temper once in a high-stakes situation should be a cause for resigning.)
I do think that if most of the House GOP feels as you do, then there’s an easy solution – he’ll get voted out of his position as House speaker.
It’s great–getting you to defend Boehner is a seminal achievement in my life so far.
True! Next to this, that Harvard degree is entirely trivial.
It was always trivial.
Unless you are Anthony Weiner…?
I was also more disturbed with the bragging aspect of this story. I’m not sure what there is to brag about. The words contained in the sentence “Go fuck yourself” are not hard to pronounce. Any four year old with average speaking skills could pull off that sentence. Maybe we are missing part of the story. Perhaps he was bragging, not because of the content, but because he managed to say it in perfect Japanese or another language in which pronunciation is a struggle for many Americans.
It’s also very disturbing to imagine Boenher’s colleagues listening to this bragging. What were their responses? “Dude! You are the man”…”You sure told him what was up!”
I just can’t even picture it.
I can. You’re lucky. It’s not a pretty picture.
What political price is there to pay for such things?
Well, for Preston Brooks, you receive a notional censure, followed by resignation, a compensatory fine, reelection and untimely death.
Or for Laurence Keitt, you incite a massive brawl that ends in lighthearted mirth, but then go on to be mortally wounded in combat.
But those are just examples from an equally divisive time period long ago.
Boehner shouldn’t have lowered himself to the level of Biden, Maher and other lowlife political hacks in this manner… even to a corrupt you-know-what like Harry Reid. What makes it worse is that he merely expressed a little defiance while caving in to Reid’s agenda! If he’d just voted down the Senate package- and then busted Reid in the snoot- I’d have some repsect for him.
Yeah, Boehner disappointed me with his outburst at Reid. I think maybe I liked Boehner better back when it seemed like every time he opened his mouth, he cried. What I’d really like to know is, does Boehner fly on the same plane Pelosi used while she was SOTH? And, if not, what became of that plane, anyway? And, what kind of plane does Reid fly on for business?
No. To his credit, Boehner did away with that expensive partyplane and flying booze party that Pelosi (and others) was notorious for. Boehner flies home commercial.