Boehner's White House F-bomb
(CNN) - For all the stalemate in the fiscal cliff negotiations, there were some heated moments, too.
A Democratic source familiar with one particular exchange told CNN that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were sitting on a sofa in the White House.
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House Speaker John Boehner breezed in and his first words to Reid were "Go f*** yourself."
Boehner's comment came after Reid took to the Senate floor on Thursday and characterized the House speaker's handling of his chamber as a "dictatorship."
Reid responded to Boehner's confrontational tone by laughing, the Democratic source said, though a GOP source who was there said he didn't think Reid was all that happy.
"The exchange continued, and it didn't get any better for Reid," the GOP source said.
Boehner's office had no comment on the exchange when asked about it Wednesday.
Both men described the moment to members of their caucus.
The exchange happened at the White House on Friday - the day the four Capitol Hill leaders, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi - met with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
On Wednesday, after news of the comment emerged, Reid said on the Senate floor that "unlike others behind us in this Capitol, I'm not going to stoop to name calling. I just want people to work and do what they need to do." Politico first reported Boehner's comment.
Hours after the meeting on Friday, he described it as "constructive."
"There was not a lot of hilarity in the meeting, everyone knows how important it is," Reid said. "It was a very serious meeting and it took an extended period of time."
- CNN's Dana Bash and Gregory Wallace contributed to this report
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And where's the president during all of this? On his way back to Hawaii on our taxpayer money! I
This IS EXACTLY why the Fuhrer Boehner needs to leave this country and take his fellow repugnants with him, especially the gov. and senators and reps from KS.
Must be trying to endear himself to the religious right.
Hey wilson, federal spending has gone down by $134 billion from Bushes last budget year (2009, the first trillion dollar deficit) to 2012. Get your facts straight.
That should have been the entire House's response when handed this piece of crap legislation. 41 dollars in new taxes for every 1 dollar in cuts? That is ridiculous.
Obama's whole effort to date has been a dicatorship.
So what, oh did it hurt his feelings? Btw, who is the guy telling tales out of school on all this?
Wilson wrote:
The BIG Lie: "Well, I have to tell you, David, if you look at my track record over the last two years, I cut spending by over a trillion dollars in 2011." –Barack Obama (Actually, federal spending increased by $147 billion in 2011.)
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Let's accept your numbers as fact. Out of annual budget in excess of $3.5T that works out to how much of an annual increase? Hint, it's far, far less than annual inflation.
The cuts that Pres. Obama was talking about were enacted by the Tea Party controlled House, spring 2010 during the Continuing Resolution battle. During the debt ceiling debacle a few months later, the Tea Party wanted another trillion in cuts, which lead to the Tea Party authored sequestration bill.
Man up, your side has lit matches between their own toes time and again.
Admittedly, I am not in favor of profanity in general, With that said, I am extremely disappointed and embarrassed that a high-ranking leader would speak to another high-ranking leader in such an unprofessional and undignified manner. Mr. Boehner represented the House of Representatives, his constituents, and the U.S. badly. What must other nations think of us? If Mr. Boehner cannot control his temper, which he obviously cannot, I question his ability to lead and negotiate. In a PBS interview Shelby Foote said, "The genius of America is it's ability to negotiate and compromise." Both parties need to consider this statement. BTW, I'm an independent voter.
Hey, look who's back! Good old 'wiredweirdinSF'. And apparently the treatments didn't work – – he/she is still spewing uneducated, bigoted, adolescent nonsense. Well, at least he/she has the balls to keep his/her I.D., unlike cowardly FourandtheDoor and Ancient Texan.. Happy New Year, you silly thing
good for you Boehner; could you give that message to obama from me?
you're kidding me... what is the big deal about someone cursing? i do it all the time...oh, i forgot, in this effiminate society we are all supposed to be nice little choir boy... i guess i didn't drink the kool-aid. long live real men.
Aw, poor Harry got his feelings hurt.
I think its time for Boehner to step down. He has shown that he has no control of his party, is in way over his head and cannot seem to conduct himself professionally during negotiations. He is NOT a leader and should have never been voted as House Speaker. I blame him, and his other Republican leaders, for this entire fiasco. STEP DOWN BOEHNER! You are not House Speaker material.
Poor Reid. Someone has hurt his feelings. Whwaaaaa.
Reid 's Senate has done absolutely nothing for the last two years of Bushes presidency and the four of Obamas and he has the balls to criticize Boehner and then to characterize Boehner as a dictator is just the opposite of how Boehner operates. Reid could take lessons on doing his job from Boehner.
Isn't "go **** yourself" the GOP motto these days?
When was the last time the Republicans tried to do ANYTHING the didn't have a tax break for their wealthy buddies in it?
With military spending up 600% and social security up 1.5%, the GOP wants to cut Social Security. How much sense does THAT make? Makes perfect sense when you know where the military money goes!
Just regained some respect for Boehner
Reid passed a bi-partisan bill with 89-8 for it. So, obviously, Republicans also love spending!
It is so telling that the right has so much anxiety over another Obama victory, even when they could have gotten a much better deal, from their viewpoint, if they had behaved like grown-ups earlier this year. But God forbid they raise even $1 in taxes, no matter how much they could have gotten in spending cuts. The Republican House, especially members of the Tea Party Caucus, act like two year olds.
All the more reason to vote Boehner out as SOTH.
Well, of course Boehner is going to act this way. After all, the GOP won the last Presidential election and the polls show the GOP's approval rating at all time high, right? RIGHT?
I don't blame hime. Reid is an obnoxious idividual.
For Unknown Carnal Knowledge Boehner does this all the time.
Swearing is a sign of weakness. The Republican party and it's leaders are in a terrible shape, they don't know how to lead, they have no idea how to do that. The party of the followers and the clueless, the Magical Mystery Tour of the political world.