OPINION:
John Boehner, of former House Majority Speaker fame, dropped a bombshell — or dozens — during an interview with Politico that was just published.
For instance, did you know that fellow Republican Rep. Don Young once pinned Boehner against a wall and held a knife to his throat during a debate about earmarks that went awry? Nope. I did not, either.
And you thought House lawmakers spent all their free time chasing the media.
Boehner also has some blunt opinions of his former congressional mates, calling Jason Chaffetz, who used to serve in the House but now works as a paid Fox News contributor, a “total phony,” who was obsessed “with Chaffetz, it’s always about Chaffetz.”
Meanwhile, on Reps. Trey Gowdy and Jim Jordan, who are both tasked to take over Chaffetz’s old House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairmanship, Boehner said: “Gowdy, that’s my guy, even though he doesn’t know how to dress. F— Jordan. F— Chaffetz. They’re both assholes.”
Jordan, in particular, was a “terrorist, a legislative terrorist,” Boehner said.
No, really. Tell us what you mean Boehner.
But back to the knife fight.
Boehner said Young, upset about the bans on earmarks, held a knife to the former speaker’s throat and pinned him against the wall. Boehner said he stared back at Young and told him, “f— you.”
Young, when contacted by Politico for confirmation, said Boehner’s account was “mostly true.” But he also reminded how he and Boehner later became good friends — and that Boehner had actually served as best man at his wedding.
Really, it’s not as if Young hadn’t pulled out the knives before. The Hill reported the Alaska Republican had actually yanked out a blade on the House floor in 1988 when a fellow lawmaker dared to bring up a bill that would’ve cut into his state’s logging profits.
Anyone else would’ve been in jail.
But apparently, what happens in Congress, stays in Congress. Except now — except now that Boehner’s gone unchained.
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