House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) channeled his inner thespian Thursday at an event in his home district to lampoon Republicans who are skittish about taking on immigration reform.
Speaking at a Rotary Club meeting in Madison Township, Ohio, Boehner said he had been working for 16 or 17 months on immigration policy and “had every brick and bat and arrow” aimed at him for daring to address the issue, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Here’s the attitude. Ohhhh. Don’t make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard,” the speaker said of his House GOP caucus.
“We get elected to make choices,” he added, as quoted by the Enquirer. “We get elected to solve problems and it’s remarkable to me how many of my colleagues just don’t want to … They’ll take the path of least resistance.”
The House GOP did unveil a set of principles for addressing immigration reform earlier this year. Soon after, however, Boehner and other House Republican leaders signaled that acting on reform would be impossible as long as the Obama administration continued to violate their “trust” and make changes to the national health care law.
Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck downplayed the speaker’s theatrics in an email to Roll Call: “As the speaker often says to his colleagues, you only tease the ones you love.”
Watch below:
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This post has been updated.
Well, hey. Even Clive Bundy is in favor of immigration reform.
Maybe Clive can lead the Republican House to a vote on immigration.
“We get elected to solve problems…” Did he really say that? When their admitted agenda is to oppose the President, repeal the ACA, and prevent bills from being passed in Congress, how can he possibly say this with a straight face?
I know, right?
I had to go back and forth several times to make sure this was BOEHNER saying this. BOEHNER mocking someone not wanting to do anything. BOEHNER saying how some in his party shy away from stuff. BOEHNER saying his party is taking the path of least resistance.
BOEHNER.
I think Boehner needs to be checked to see if he has multiple personalities. Because from what he’s saying, you’d never know HE was a willing participant in all this too.
As far as I can tell the agenda of the House is to do nothing at all.