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The Spectacle Blog
The folks at Red State and other conservatives were justly angry at the apparent insult to conservatives contained in an interview given by House Speaker John Boehner. I now have clarification on the remark.
First, here’s what Boehner said, when talking about Paul Ryan:
BOEHNER: I mean, I think that he’s a practical conservative. He’s got a very conservative voting record, but he’s not a knuckle-dragger, all right? He understood that TARP, while none of us wanted to do it, if we were going to save — save our economy, save the world economy, it had to happen. I wish we didn’t have to do it, either, but he understood that.
Now, I can report this direct quote from Dave Schnittger, the Speaker’s Deputy Chief of Staff:
“The Speaker said Paul Ryan is a practical conservative, and that Paul Ryan is not a knuckledragger. He did not say those who opposed TARP are knuckledraggers, and he does not believe TARP opponents are knuckledraggers. He did not say tea partiers are knuckledraggers, and he does not believe tea partiers are knuckledraggers. To the contrary, he has enormous respect for the tea party movement, which reflects the will of the American people and their desire for a government that respects our Constitution. Whether you supported or opposed TARP, we all can agree the crony capitalist philosophy of forcing responsible taxpayers to subsidize irresponsible behavior – perpetuated and perfected under President Obama – has wrecked our economy, and has to end.”
If you watch the interview, and listen to the intonation and the pacing of the remarks, I think it IS believable that Boehner was separating the “not a knuckle-dragger” part from the TARP part. I think it is fair to give Boehner the benefit of the doubt that he was not intending to suggest that only knuckle-draggers opposed TARP.
That said, I still take issue — not insult, but substantive issue — with what Boehner actually did say about TARP. TARP did not “have to happen.” It was not necessary to “save our economy save the world economy.”
Now, that’s just pure economics. I will think to my dying day that the “crisis,” in pure economic terms, was overblown, and that the situation could therefore have been ameliorated through other means far less abusive to our economic and political systems.
That said, it might be arguable that Messrs. Geithner, Paulson, Bush, McCain, Reid, Obama and others had so loudly hit the panic button that failure to pass TARP would have indeed caused a cataclysmic panic and a resulting, absolute meltdown of the international economy. In short, Paulson and Geithner especially had created a situation almost sure to be a self-fulfilling prophecy if they didn’t get their way.
I myself disagree with that. I think that the right leadership from other sources could have lessened the panic, and that the crisis could still have been averted without the unwise and still arguably unconstitutional TARP. But I must admit that that argument is a much, much closer call, and that those on the Boehner/Ryan side of it have many legitimate arguments on their side. I also recognize that Paul was part of the negotiating team on TARP, and that there were several important improvements from the original TARP proposal that resulted directly from Ryan’s involvement — and, while ideologues refuse to recognize this fact, it is a well-understood and very reasonable convention on Capitol Hill that in crucial negotiations, he who gets his way on important substantive changes is expected in return to support the final product. This is, practically speaking, especially true if the final product looks almost certain to pass anyway, so the only result of obstinacy would be to lose the improvements that the negotiator did achieve. (If other negotiators didn’t really want the changes, they could jettison said changes at a moment’s notice.) In short, this is all about “negotiating in good faith,” and it is a very important tradition in order for the whole system to work. For that reason, as I was fiercely opposing TARP, even as I did I immediately excused Ryan’s vote for it, because I understood how all this works.
In sum….. In sum, I think Boehner was wrong here on substance, but not outrageously so, speaking in terms of how the practical politics (and state of panic) actually were playing at the time. And I think he made a big faux-pas in talking about TARP immediately after talking about knuckle-draggers, giving the impression that he was conflating the two. But I do not think he really meant, or believes, that those who opposed TARP are knuckle-draggers. And I credit his staff for so quickly moving to correct the misimpression — I think quite sincerely so.
Boehner should be a bit more careful, but almost everybody, every day, says something that comes out a little wrong. On this contretemps, let’s cut the Speaker some slack.
Conservatives should move on.
View all comments (17) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Quin Hillyer
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/08/15/boehner-clarifies-knuckle-drag
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Derek Leaberry| 8.15.12 @ 3:15PM
Anyone with a 7th grade or above reading comprehension would recognize Boehner's remarks as an insult.
JmsA| 8.15.12 @ 3:20PM
Simply put, Mr. Boehner is not helping, and hasn't done so for some time. To his credit though, he was right on the mark as he told Greta Van Susteren that Biden had been mostly wrong during his tenure at the U.S. Senate Comittee on Foreign Relations.
C Bowen | 8.15.12 @ 4:06PM
Ryan's support for TARP (we'll set aside his well timed stock trades for the moment) at least says he believes in crank Keynesian economics.
aware| 8.15.12 @ 6:21PM
Yes or the neo con flavor, supply side. With central planning it's hard to tell sometimes. It sure doesn't show any classical or Austrian flavor.
rightasrain| 8.15.12 @ 4:42PM
Boehner's comments lead to the inescapable conclusion that some people, Paul Ryan exempted, with "very conservative voting records" are knuckle- draggers. Can we please please replace the tearful tanorexic?
Oldefarte| 8.15.12 @ 5:01PM
I am so sick and tired of this BS about TARP and who knew what, disagreed with this that and the other etc. Fact: the ORIGINAL TARP [as crafted by Paulson, Bush etc] was not only necessary bur critical to the survival of this country's economy. Fact: if this TARP had not been provided to the major banks, the GD explosion of the economy would have positively occurred. The government would have collapsed worse than in 1929, the banks would have imploded from a public run on all banks our of pure panic. Was it necessary? Damned straight it was so! Was the SECONDARY TARP thereafter necessary to GM, Chrysler etc? Hell no....that was Obama's political payoff to his UAW labor union buddies. Oh research the recent news stories concerning Obama's manipulating of the government payout of its pensions to the unionized workers ONLY while the salaried, non unionized office workers were left with their youknowhat in their hands. Also chick out the fact that GM/Chrysler still owe half of the $50 bil borrowed under TARP and will never repay same. Check out the auto recall of recent Chevy autos approximating 23000. Check out the fact that the original banks repaid entirely their borrowed funds WITH INTEREST to the government and taxpayers, okay?????
aware| 8.15.12 @ 6:17PM
Stupid partisan baloney, Oldbeancounter. You love the "Bush" TARP, but hate Obama TARP. Kinda like you love Bush big government but hate Obama big government.
TARP is a perfect example of how you tell which "party" is in charge, the name on the check. Banks=the "R" wing. Unions=the "D" wing. It makes you feel better if your stolen labor goes to the R cronies, why?
Your comments on economics prove you are over your waders. "Paid back"? You know how smart guy? The "loans" given to the TBTF at 0% were then "loaned" back to "government" at 4%. Sweet huh? In no time TBTF makes 4% on a few hundred billion "pays back with interest(0%)" and even the bonuses for the big boys grew by 60%.
But guess what, that interest is coming out of your pocket. Get it? YOU paid the "interest" they then paid to the State(not you). Where do you think that 16 trillion debt came from? It hasn't dawned on you even now that you have been "redistributed" has it?
No wonder we are going down in flames when even accountants can't tell when they are being fleeced. Or whose fleecing them.
Like I said before, I've fired bean counters like you before. Naval gazers and anal retentive, the lot of you. You can't see the forest or even the trees for focusing on a leaf.
aware| 8.15.12 @ 6:21PM
Oh yeah, and !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 8.16.12 @ 11:42AM
You've "fired bean counters"? Sounds similar to "Clint the Stupid" to my recollection. You worthless POS haven't fired anyone except your unpaid mother no doubt. "Where do you think that 16 trillion debt came from?"....I'll tell you where you DA. It came from the Democrats' NEW DEAL, THE GREAT SOCIETY, THE WAR ON POVERTY, AFFORDABLE HOMES, UN-STIMULUS TO LABOR UNIONIZED GOVERNMENT WORKERS AND DETROIT'S UAW OVERPAID BOLT-SCREWERS, WELFARECARE TO INDIGENTS, HUD, FANNIE/FREDDIE,etc. That where, you DA moron! Your "loaned back" comment is equally stupid and asinine....go READ the WSJ on how/what the banks repaid to the government and the $dollar amount of interest that was paid for those loans; read that the Detroit-UAW'ers still OWE half of the amount that they borrowed and will never repay same, that GM is on the verge of bankruptcy currently, that Chrysler was sold to Italy's Fiat, that the private bondholders' of Detroit's companies financial investments were wipe out/destroyed from ya boy's bailout. Understand this PIG, if ya boy hadn't provided his taxpayer funded bailout to the UAW, Detroit's manufacturers would have been bought out by Japan's with no loss of jobs or workers' incomes, but oh no, the domestic terrorist had to stuff money in the pockets of Detroit's unionized crooks. GTH Clint and stay there [and take your stpidity to the NYT where you'll be welcomed instead of here]!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 8.16.12 @ 11:58AM
PS [unaware]: Bush was at least an American, not a domestic terrorist like ya boy was/is [who no one knows truly his history, who legally locks up his college records that are unavailable for public viewing; whose entire academic career from grade schol through law school was in PRIVATE SCHOOLS [who paid for this?]; and whose subversively destroying this country intentially. Bush etc made mistakes but they weren't intentional, and thats the difference between him/them and ya boy!!!!!
Paul McGrath| 8.15.12 @ 6:00PM
He may not have been referring to the anti-TARPists as knuckle-draggers, but he was certainly referring to SOMEBODY as being knuckle-draggers.
You don't have to be a genius to figure out who he was talking about. God, I am so tired of this guy.
JohnTee| 8.15.12 @ 6:19PM
I'm sick and tired of Bawlin' Boner as the " leader " of the GOP in the house. With morons like him in charge, the Republicans will never be the force required to reverse and repeal the Obamess left behind.
One thing though, he'll never be accused of being a knuckle dragger, what with one stuck firmly in his mouth when crying, and the other where the sun doesn't shine.
Kingofthenet| 8.15.12 @ 6:42PM
Finally the Boner tells the truth, the Tea Party contingent are knuckle-draggers.
Occam's Tool| 8.16.12 @ 12:44AM
Better that than Jihadi fellators like you, Queenie.
PCPSmokerII| 8.15.12 @ 9:40PM
"If you watch the interview, and listen to the intonation and the pacing of the remarks, I think it IS believable that Boehner was separating the "not a knuckle-dragger" part from the TARP part. I think it is fair to give Boehner the benefit of the doubt that he was not intending to suggest that only knuckle-draggers opposed TARP."
What a fucking worthless piece of shit you are. I hope someone puts a bullet between your eyes.
Dai Alanye | 8.16.12 @ 8:41AM
PCPSmokerII ought to be banned from this site, at least until he/she/it gets his/her/its emotions under control. There is no reason for TAS and its columnists to put up with this sort of commentary.
Mary| 8.16.12 @ 8:57AM
All the Republican establishment and leadership need to go!!! They are worthless. They have let Obama get away with so much on his executive orders and refuse to say you don't have the power to do this. Are there any men or women left in Washington who will stand up and say enough?