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27 Feb 2011 20:02

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World: Is John Boehner backing off government shutdown stance entirely?

  • Americans want the government to stay open, and they want it to spend less money. We don’t need to shut down the government to accomplish that. We just need to do what the American people are asking of us.
  • John Boehner (in expected statements) • Discussing the next steps his party plans to help encourage spending cuts. Note that he appears to be backing away from the idea of a government shutdown. Perhaps hard-line stances are proving a little too, uh, risky for the GOP right now?  source

15 Jan 2011 12:58

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Politics: John Boehner keeps declining Obama’s high-profile invitations

  • nope Boehner was invited to ride with Obama on Air Force One to the Tucson memorial on Wednesday. He declined because he had GOP-related plans in D.C.
  • no way The House Speaker was then invited to a state dinner with Chinese President Hu Jintao – a pretty high-profile world leader – but he declined that, too. source

06 Jan 2011 19:44

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Politics: Boehner not a birther, won’t clamp down on GOPers who are

  • The state of Hawaii has said that President Obama was born there. That’s good enough for me.
  • House Speaker John Boehner • Speaking on the topic of birthers, a topic that found itself in the news today thanks to someone who really likes shouting during a formal recitation of the U.S. Constitution. Despite his own personal feelings on Tea Partiers, don’t expect Boehner to stomp on the political beliefs of his fellow members of Congress, no matter the party: “People come, regardless of party labels, they come with all kinds of beliefs and ideas. It’s the melting pot of America. It’s not up to me to tell them what to think.” Ultimately, we pretty much agree with that sentiment, even if it means a couple of weirdos get in there. source

04 Jan 2011 21:23

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Politics: From Pelosi to Boehner: The changing of the Twitter guard

  • I’m now @NancyPelosi – 2 characters shorter than @SpeakerPelosi. RTers rejoice!
  • A tweet from @NancyPelosi • Regarding Pelosi’s change from Speaker to mere House Majority Leader. In case you’re wondering, John Boehner can be found at @SpeakerBoehner. And the ceremonial change of the Twitter guard commences. Hey, @SpeakerGingrich is open! So is @SpeakerHastert! And @SpeakerNewt! Anyone wanna make a parody account? (thanks pantlessprogressive for the tip) source

15 Mar 2010 23:29

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Politics: One option to get Obamacare through: Sleight-of-hand

  • It’s more insider and process-oriented than most people want to know. But I like it, because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi • On an option she’s considering to ensure the passage of the health-care bill. With this process, the bill would fall under a “self-executing rule,” which would assume the bill passed while a more popular piece of legislation was voted on. The idea would be to allow for passage of the Senate bill without pinning anyone’s name on the legislation. Even though this is a commonly-used tactic, Republicans are crying foul, calling it unconstitutional. Pelosi, BTW, wants the bill passed by the end of the week. Good luck with that; you’re gonna need it. source

14 May 2009 21:13

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U.S.: Nancy Pelosi: I knew about waterboarding, but they lied to Congress

  • 2003 The House Speaker is informed of harsh interrogation techniques by the C.I.A., including the use of waterboarding, the cruelest form of punishment ever.
  • 2009 Pelosi, on the hot seat about what she knew, admits this much but says they were dishonest about the extent of the interrogation methods to Congress. Hm. source