Boehner’s idea of leadership

Los Angeles Times: House Speaker John A. Boehner called last fall’s government shutdown a “very predictable disaster” that he warned his fellow Republicans to avoid, but ultimately went along with it at the behest of colleagues intent on a standoff with President Obama over his healthcare law.

Making his “Tonight Show” debut Thursday, the Ohio Republican told host Jay Leno that the episode reflected the challenges he faces leading an often rambunctious House majority.

“When I looked up, I saw my colleagues going this way.  And you learn that a leader without followers is simply a man taking a walk,” he said. “So I said, ‘You want to fight this fight?  I’ll go fight the fight with you.’ But it was a very predictable disaster.”

Leading by following. It’s the Boehner way.

After telling this little story, The Orange Weeper explained his job as Speaker, as he saw it: “Some members, I have to be the big brother figure. Some, I have to be the father figure.  Others, I have to be the dean of students or the principal. Some of them, I have to be the Gestapo.”

And sometimes he has to be the irresponsible babysitter who lets the kids eat all the candy they want, so he doesn’t have to listen to them cry about it. And if the kids are up all night puking afterward? Not his fault.

[photo by Gage Skidmore]

Rep. Steve Stockman demonstrates why govt. regulations are necessary

"My Lord, a few days ago we reported how Tea Partier and Texas Crazy Congressman Steve Stockman had the city Fire Marshal condemn his campaign headquarters as an unsafe workplace last month. This came out just after Stockman announced he was challenging John Cornyn for Senate - and I guess gives some insight into why Stockman is so against government regulations. But I didn’t realize it was this bad. We just got hold of the photos of the condemned property. And they’ve got to be seen to be believed."
--Josh Marshall, “WTF is All I got.”

Photos are here and, yeah, it looks like a freakin’ crack house. There are homeless squatters who have better digs.

Keep these photos in mind the next time some ‘bagger talks about ‘onerous regulations.’ Big gummint came along and shut Stockman’s HQ down — not because regulations on workplace safety are so insanely strict, but because Stockman couldn’t tell that asking people to work in this rathole was not OK.

"Burdensome" workplace safety and health regulations don’t exist despite people like Steve Stockman. They exist because of them.