White House Dismisses Boehner ‘Chickenshit’ Rebuke: ‘A Little Rich’

FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama acknowledges House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio while speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meet... FILE - In this Nov. 16, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama acknowledges House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio while speaking to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, as he hosted a meeting of the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss the deficit and economy. A big coalition of business groups says there must be give-and-take in the negotiations to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of massive tax hikes and spending cuts. But the coalition also says raising tax rates is out of the question. The group doesn’t care that President Barack Obama campaigned to raise tax rates on the rich. The same song is sung by groups representing retirees, colleges and countless others. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) MORE LESS
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House Speaker John Boehner condemned the Obama administration on Wednesday after a report surfaced in which an anonymous U.S. official called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a chickenshit.”

In a statement, the Ohio Republican deplored “the disrespectful rhetoric used time and again by this administration with respect to the special relationship the United States has with the state of Israel.”

“He either condones the profanity and disrespect used by the most senior members of his administration, or he does not. It is time for him to get his house in order and tell the people that can’t muster professionalism that it is time to move on,” Boehner said.

At his daily briefing, White House press secretary Josh Earnest was asked about the anonymous quote, reported Tuesday by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.

Earnest emphasized the “close relationship” between the U.S. and Israel and said the reported comments “do not reflect the view of the administration and we do believe that they are counterproductive.”

He also chafed when asked about Boehner’s strong rebuke of it.

“[That’s] an interesting observation by the Speaker of the House, who has a penchant for using salty language himself,” Earnest said. “It’s a little rich to have a lecture about profanity from the Speaker of the House.”

Though it’s unclear what exactly Earnest was referring to, there are a few possibilities. In October 2008, Boehner called then-candidate Barack Obama a “chickenshit” for voting “present” on numerous occasions in the Illinois state senate, according to ABC News. More recently, during fiscal cliff negotiations in late 2012, Boehner told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to “go fuck yourself,” Politico reported at the time, apparently in response to the Nevada Democrat’s public badgering of the way he was running the House.

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  1. people that can’t muster professionalism would include ONLY CONGRESS in its entirety

  2. Avatar for tomj tomj says:

    > He either condones the profanity and disrespect used by the most senior members of his administration, or he does not. It is time for him to get his house in order and tell the people that can’t muster professionalism that it is time to move on, Boehner said.

    Two words: “You lie!”

  3. Avatar for azjude azjude says:

    I am so sick and tired of the gop/bag congress and bebe for that matter.

    News flash boner, Israel is NOT a state in our union!!! As such, shouldn’t be treated as such by YOU!!

  4. “That’s an interesting observation by the Speaker of the House, who has a penchant for using salty language himself”…

    I would love it if, for once, an administration spokesperson would at least put some sting in a “rebuke”. Something like:

    “The last thing we’re concerned about is the Chickens**t opinion of the incompetent, alcoholic, lying Speaker of the House…”

  5. Avatar for goner goner says:

    It is time for him to get his house in order and tell the people that
    can’t muster professionalism that it is time to move on
    ," Boehner said.

    So this means that the entire House GOP carcass caucus is resigning en masse, right???

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