Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said that she feels “almost sorry” for House Speaker John Boehner during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, explaining that Boehner is in a tough spot because of the far-right wing of the Republican Party.
“I feel almost sorry for John Boehner,” McCaskill said. “There is incredible pressure on him from a base of his party that is unreasonable about this. And he’s gotta decide, is his speakership more important, or is the country more important. And in some ways, he has got to deal with this base of the Republican Party, who Grover Norquist represents.”
McCaskill continued to talk about Norquist: “And you know, everybody’s elevated Grover — I mean, I met him for the first time this morning, nice to meet him — but you know, who is he? Why is he this guy that has captured so much attention in this?”
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), appearing with McCaskill on the show, contradicted this assessment of Boehner’s position, saying that his “biggest problem is not his base, it’s having a willing partner on the other side” that’s willing to look at real entitlement reform.
