John Boehner reneged on an agreement with Harry Reid over a "clean" spending bill

[Tx4obama]

Reid to CNN: Boehner’s ‘job is not as important as our country’

October 3rd, 2013 07:06 PM ET

Washington (CNN) – In an interview with CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused House Speaker John Boehner of being more worried about his job than the country amid a government shutdown.

The Nevada Democrat also talked for the first time Thursday about Boehner reneging on an agreement between the two over a “clean” spending bill, and admitted he directed his chief of staff to leak embarrassing e-mails that they say indicate Boehner changed his position on Obamacare subsidies for Congress.

Reid also followed up on his controversial comments from Wednesday, when he took issue with the idea that the Senate should vote to fund clinical trials for cancer patients at the National Institutes of Health during the shutdown.

In the interview, Reid criticized Boehner for bowing to a conservative faction of his caucus that insists on attaching anti-Obamacare provisions to a temporary spending bill needed to fund the government.

“His job is not as important as our country,” Reid said.

-snip-

Full article with MORE quotes here: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/03/reid-boehners-job-is-not-as-important-as-our-country/

[dgibby]

1. Looks like Harry's decided to not take prisoners. Love it! n/t

[Trekologer]

2. Give 'em hell, Harry

[landolfi]

3. Would you lie to a sociopath with a gun to your daughter's head?

I sure would. So maybe Harry ought to take a page out of Boner's playbook. OK, sure, we'll talk about Obamacare first thing after the clean CR and the debt ceiling is resolved. Then say, whoops, something else came up--jobs. These people aren't reasonable, so there's no point treating them like reasonable people.

[Tx4obama]

5. Reid AND Obama have said they will talk about Obamacare and everything AFTER the clean CR...

... and Boehner has said NO.

The clips of what Obama has said have been on the TV box.

[Heather MC]

6. Great Idea but pathological liars don't trust anyone

I am sure he would get more than a handshake for proof it would happen

[Squinch]

4. Kick for exposure.

[steve2470]

7. kick and rec nt

[Abukhatar]

8. not all rosy though as Harry..

apparently was ready to give concessions to get Boner to 'agree'

[progressoid]

10. Yup. This stinks on so many levels.

[Abukhatar]

14. phyrric victory..

...is what Harry seems to be aiming for...need more cojones

[davidpdx]

9. Boner is a lying piece of shit

The Democrats agreed to $70 billion in cuts and then they tack on repealing Obamacare.

[MSMITH33156]

11. There is nothing wrong with giving concessions

to get a new budget passed. That was what he was talking about. That is now what is happening here. Now, the Republicans shut down the government and are threatening to ruin the economy if they don't get their way.

What Reid was discussing is an agreement between the House and the Senate on spending levels. That is completely different. If they end the shutdown and pass the CR, raise the debt ceiling, of course there will be negotiations on a new budget and any other new bill. That's how it is supposed to work.

[Tx4obama]

12. No. Reid agreed to the $$$ amount if it would be voted on as a 'clean CR'

Boehner did not hold up to his part of the bargain - because he is not allowing a House floor vote on the 'clean CR'.

[MSMITH33156]

13. That was already the case though.

That is the budget now. If Reid wanted to actually expand the money, he would have to negotiate with Boehner. Just like Boehner wanting to defund Obamacare.

Reid basically agreed to keep spending levels where they currently are, at sequestration levels, to get a clean CR, which is just prudent because the current levels were a law agreed to by both chambers of Congress and signed by the President. What Reid is saying is that he and Boehner agreed not to ask for anything new and just pass the CR to prevent this mess, and then Boehner backed out. Reid was also pointing out that he did that even though current levels are well below what we has Democrats want. He was basically making the point that the clean CR is a negotiated budget passed by Congress and signed by the President. It's not some Democratic Utopia budget.

[Tx4obama]

15. Nope. There was a negotiation the first week of September...

Harry Reid Says John Boehner Backed Out Of Deal

The Senate Majority Leader and the House Speaker worked out a compromise deal to pass a “clean” funding bill, but Speaker Boehner was unable to keep his end of the bargain, says Harry Reid.

Reid said Boehner never wanted to wage a protracted battle over ObamaCare as part of the negotiations to keep the government running.

“I know that that’s not the path he preferred,” Reid said. “I know that because we met the first week we came back in September and he told me that what he wanted was a clean CR and the $988 billion number.

“We didn’t like the 988 number. We didn’t like it but we negotiated. That was our compromise,” Reid added. “The exact bill that he now refuses to let the House vote on. That was our negotiation.”

http://www.alan.com/2013/10/03/harry-reid-says-john-boehner-backed-out-of-deal/

[MSMITH33156]

16. The 988 is the compromise number

from the sequestration. It is the current number. It wasn't some new negotiation. His point was that 988 in the clean CR is a compromise already. He is countering the Republican Talking point that the Dems won't negotiate by pointing out that the current budget that the clean CR would maintain is negotiated budget that many Dems aren't happy with.

He did not agree to a new deal in order to pass a clean CR. His point was that the exist budget was negotiated with the same Republicans who are now shutting down the government.

What happened in September was a behind the scenes agreement between Boehner and Reid that they would not do exactly what Boehner is doing now, which is to try and use the end of the Fiscal Year to make new demands and cause a crisis. Reid agreed to keep the current levels of funding even though he could have just as easily done what Boehner is doing, which is to refuse to pass a budget until the sequester is lifted. That was the alternative that he passed on. He didn't agree to anything new, he agreed not to ask for anything new, even though he wanted it.

The sequestration budget blows, is hurting the economy, and is actually what Republicans want. Reid, to avert crisis, agreed to maintain that.

[Iliyah]

17. DUh, thats why I don't trust a GOPer