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November 2, 2010

MIDTERMS: Oh, Mercy

By Michael Shaw

<p>Jim Young/Reuters</p>

Jim Young/Reuters

Proud tears from the son of a barkeep. The sentiment rings hollow, however, given the moment marks the only break in the acid flowing from the GOP since Obama’s election.

UPDATE: 11/3. 6pm PST

I actually had another thought on this listening to some analysis today.  One thing this scene revealed last night is that Boehner, as oppposed to McConnell and Cantor, for example, is a bit of a soft touch. He has worked in a bipartisan fashion in the past, does take a bottom-up approach at times, and if you remember, he did try to compromise on the Bush tax cuts a month or so back before the hardliners reeled him in.  It’s not to say Boehner isn’t going to be a mouthpiece for the angry and uncompromising far right, but the photo does offer some dissent, at least personality-wise, from who his so-called friends are.

UPDATE II, 9:55 pm PST

And yeah, the blue tie fits the theory, too.  I’m starting to watch Boehner a lot more closely now, checking for kumbaya symptoms, as well as behavioral evidence of big John simply acting as bonecrusher McConnell and Cantor’s errand boy.

(caption: House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH), who broke into tears during his speech, waves after addressing supporters at a Republican election night results watch rally in Washington, November 2, 2010.)

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  • http://leftistmoon.wordpress.com Wordsmith

    This was a line I heard a lot last night. ‘We took over (won) because Washington wasn’t listening.’ Especially coming out of the mouth of Boehner, that’s laughable. Where’s he been for the past 20 ysars? In Congress – part of that very Washingtonian establishment he’s decrying.

  • momly

    And someone who voted FOR the stimulus his supporters decried.

    No wonder he’s bawling.

  • http://www.catinbag.blogspot.com Zoey & Me

    He’s crying in his beer. Wait till a crisis hits this country with his dumb ass in charge. Another recession maybe or a no bail out again for the banks and depression hits. The House Republicans will say “starve” and move on to the next bar.

  • Paul_D

    In all fairness, at least the new speaker will be a person of color, even if it’s not from nature.

  • http://motherrr.blogspot.com cmac

    Argh. There were a few wins yesterday that really pissed me off – Rand Paul, Ben Quayle, people of very low mental and logical caliber going to Washington to screw things up even worse than they already are. But the thing that made me want to vomit was this freakish idiot becoming the Speaker of the House. Geez. Just shoot me now.

  • buddy

    The monied elite has spoken, and we all must bow down. They need to get a better spokes-model, though. Big John isn’t quite manly enough with all that tears and blubbering. He reminds one of a fallen tele-evangelist who’s asking for forgiveness. How appropriate.

  • jonst

    It is not on point to this post…..or, not directly. But can someone offer an opinion as to why, one day AFTER the election, the Fed announces a huge plan to “boost the economy and create jobs”. i.e. the so called QEII plan.

    • Glenn May

      The Fed aims to be non-partisan. But it’s not like there was any worry here that they would be accused of being partisan. Quantitative easing, otherwise known as printing money, is perfectly acceptable to Wall Street as the big banks and hedges will benefit from it.
      On the other hand a new stimulus – the use of money to actually hire people into jobs – would have made the plutocrats howl. We can’t use government funds to help regular people.
      The money now being printed, on the other hand, goes right to big institutions, who will invest it overseas because no one in his right mind would invest it in the moribund U.S. economy. Great, huh! The government dishes out money, but only to the rich, and only so they can invest it – in China!

  • http://bagnews.com/staff/#mshaw Michael Shaw

    Just added an update to this post. On reflection, Boehner’s a bit of a softy. (Plus, check that blue tie.)

  • Gasho

    I bought 3 handbags from hotbagonline.com and all of them were
    a) late in arriving
    b) appeared to be recycled/refurbished or otherwise USED
    and c) smelled like cat piss

    stop trolling your lame advertising here, piss bags !!

  • http://bagnews.com/staff/#mshaw Michael Shaw

    Hey Gasho, I was about to spam the poor bag into oblivion, but I’m leaving the troll, and the consumer testimonial, in your hands.

  • Aurora

    Go Away.

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