By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--May 29, 2017
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Former House Speaker John Boehner says that aside from international affairs and foreign policy, President Donald Trump’s time in office has so far been a “complete disaster.” Speaking at an energy conference Thursday in Houston, Boehner praised Trump for his approach abroad and his aggressiveness in fighting Islamic State militants, according to the energy publication Rigzone. “Everything else he’s done (in office) has been a complete disaster,” the Ohio Republican said, according to the publication. “He’s still learning how to be president.” Boehner said he’s been friends with Trump for 15 years, but still has a hard time envisioning him as president. He also said Trump shouldn’t be allowed to Tweet overnight. David Schnittger, a spokesman for Boehner, confirmed the comments on Friday.
According to Rigzone, Boehner said that the Republican tax reform effort “is just a bunch of happy talk” and that the border adjustment tax — a major priority for Boehner’s successor, Speaker Paul Ryan — is “deader than a doornail.” He said he was more optimistic about tax reform earlier in the year, but “now my odds are 60/40.” Earlier this year, Boehner said he was pessimistic about another congressional Republican priority — repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Boehner said that while Republicans would fix some problems of Obama’s law, repeal and replacement is “not going to happen.”That was pretty much the way Boehner viewed everything conservatives wanted to see happen when he was Speaker. It's not going to happen. The politics don't work. Republicans are too scared. It's too much work to rustle up the votes and Boehner doesn't know how to do it, or doesn't feel like trying. Or all those dumb conservatives who want these things don't know how Washington really works, and they should just shut up. That was Boehner's attitude his entire tenure as Speaker. This was largely because he completely accepted all the dysfunction of Washington and chose to become a creature of it, rather than trying to rise above it and actually achieve worthwhile things.
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