As I figured would happen, Rep. John Boehner has pulled out of negotiations with Obama over the debt ceiling talks because.....revenues and safety net cuts.

What a shock.

House Speaker John Boehner has broken off talks with President Barack Obama on getting a budget deal to avert a government default. The Ohio Republican says the president wants to raise taxes too high and won't make "fundamental changes" to benefit programs such as Medicare.

Top GOP aides say Boehner will now work with Senate leaders on an alternative aimed at averting a market-rattling, first-ever federal default.

Jed Lewison was covering Obama's recent remarks:

3:38 PM PT: President Obama has wrapped up perhaps the most dramatic news conference of his presidency. (As for statements, nothing will beat the Osama bin Laden one, of course.) To recap: Boehner is out of talks in the big deal. Obama is now talking about the big deal in the past tense. He is insisting on the debt limit being raised, even if it's a clean debt limit extension.
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3:23 PM PT: After saying he is willing to sign the McConnell plan that would require him to take the responsibility of raising the debt limit, Obama adds: "I cannot believe Congress would be that irresponsible that they would not send to me a package that avoids a self inflicted wound when things are so difficult." He's at least calling for a clean bill here.

There wasn't time for the Grand Bargain and I'm happy about that. We'll see where it goes from here. It's clear President Obama wanted a big deal and we all saw how powerful the bully pulpit is because now Americans want the debt ceiling raised and they'd like a compromise. A couple of weeks ago, most Americans agreed with the Tea Party and didn't want the debt ceiling raised at all. This is a tactic I find annoying by the administration. Even if they win some sort of victory, the dialogue has shifted hard to the right over cuts and not spending and revenues to kick start this economy. That's a bad spot for a Democratic President to put himself in and for his Congressional brethren as well.

If only he used the bully pulpit more often and in progressive terms...Anyway...this soap opera continues.

Hullabaloo:

Update I: Keep in mind that everyone's posturing in public right now, trying to get their people on board for something. I wouldn't assume anything. For all we know, both Boehner and the President have agreed to a clean vote with a pinky swear to get back to work on that dratted debt the day after and Nancy and John are planning a full week-end of kabuki to show their troops that they fought until very end. With the president saying his bottom line is raising the debt ceiling, it could be that the GOP "reluctantly" agrees to Pelosi's plan for 2.4 without any cuts.
Or maybe the Republicans really are going to go over the cliff. It ain't over 'til it's over

Have you noticed that Villagers are getting mad at Grover Norquist? He's been around a long time pulling strings in the GOP for decades, but since he's been out there with his no new taxes pledge and using insane logic to defend it, he's now interfering with the Villagers desire to see a Grand Bargain too.

Okay, I admit it: I'm a weeper. I cry during abandoned dog commercials, the final scenes of "Field of Dreams" and "Marley and Me" and honestly, pretty much all other times. My kids laugh at my tendency to go to tears. But for as much as I cry, I do have the ability to hold it together in a professional setting. I have never once cried in an office or work setting.

But curiously, John Boehner feels no similar need to button up his emotionality and there are videos galore of him tearing up on the House floor. It's so ubiquitous that the progressive blogosphere even dubbed him "Cryin' John Boehner".

But now the traditional media is noticing it too...and they're beginning to wonder if Boehner is tough enough for the job:

I’m sure we’ll get used to having a speaker of the House who weeps a lot.

That would be John Boehner, the new guy.

“He is known to cry,” the outgoing speaker, Nancy Pelosi, told Deborah Solomon in The Times Magazine. “He cries sometimes when we’re having a debate on bills.”

Pelosi, of course, does not cry in public. We will stop here briefly to contemplate what would happen if she, or any female lawmaker, broke into loud, nose-running sobs while discussing Iraq troop funding or giving a TV interview.

(Pause)

O.K., moving forward.

Boehner is a gravel-voiced Ohioan who wears snazzy suits and hangs out a lot with lobbyists. One of the few cheery prospects the new year holds for Democrats is his upcoming demonization, since there is no such thing in 21st-century America as a loveable leader of the House of Representatives. Unless America is totally won over by the idea of a Sobbing Speaker.

Can you imagine the field day that the right wing noise machine would have had if Nancy Pelosi teared up as much John Boehner? The mind reels.

The most arresting moment came when Boehner told Stahl he can no longer make visits to schools, or even look at the little kids on the playground, because he immediately starts crying.

That had me alarmed. I thought there was going to be some terrible story about an ailing child that would then force me to have warm and sympathetic thoughts about John Boehner.

But no. The reason, Boehner finally choked out, was because “making sure these kids have a shot at the American dream, like I did, is important.”[..]

“I spent my whole life chasing (sob) the American dream,” he told the cameras. “Put myself through school, working every rotten job there was ...”

The American Dream has had such a bad year. During the campaign, it was tossed around by billionaire candidates who insisted on telling groups of underprivileged children that they, too, could someday own a mega-yacht or run a slimy but extremely profitable health care corporation.

Now, John Boehner is blaming the Dream for making him howl like an abandoned puppy.

Oh snap! Maddow also suggests that perhaps if Boehner changed his policies, he'd have less to cry about. And while some other sensitive men might defend Boehner, there is also a growing whisper that his tears may be symptomatic of a larger problem:

John Boehner’s latest public crying episode has gotten Capitol Hill talking, and some are speculating that there’s a simple explanation for the waterworks: He’s drunk. “For years, political professionals have quietly discussed Boehner’s drinking,” writes Matt Lewis of Politics Daily. “Some have told me off the record that his mannerisms remind them of that of an alcoholic.”[..]

So is the drinking to blame for the crying? Politico once noted that Boehner “cries more often later in the day,” and he often seems to slur his words right before such outbursts.

Well, he'd hardly be the first alcoholic in Congress, but I think there should simply be a rule: THERE'S NO CRYING IN POLITICS.

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Is it possible that Chris Wallace actually reads C&L? Because he asked House Minority Leader John Boehner about the laughable pamphlet the GOP put out, advising members how to spend their summer vacation. Maybe I'm projecting a little bit, but didn't Chris sound a little incredulous about it?

And bless his little heart, Boehner's been studying. He's got his August recess talking points memorized and down pat. Take a look at the booklet and tell me how quickly you find these phrases:

• The American people are tired of the job killing agenda in Washington DC
• The spending spree needs to stop
• The American people don’t want their taxes are increased
• Republicans are offering better solutions
• We’re listening to people
• It’s pretty clear Americans want change
• The American people have been asking: Where are the jobs?
• The President’s (and the Democrats’) policies are killing job creation
• The President’s (and the Democrats’) policies are hurting the economy
• Running up debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren
• Let’s stop this wasteful stimulus spending

Sound and fury, signifying absolutely nothing. But the most unintentionally revealing moment? Despite saying that the American people want change and better solutions and are wondering where the jobs are, Boehner admits that he's not listening to experts:

WALLACE: But Congressman, even without going on a listening tour, you’ve got to know the prime issue for all voters, or most voters, is the economy and jobs. I want to put up some new figures that came out Friday. It showed that GDP growth has slowed dramatically from 5% in late 2009 to 3.7% in the first quarter of this year to now to just 2.4% in this last quarter. A number, Congressman, a number of top economists say what we need now is more economic stimulus.

BOEHNER: Well, I don’t need to see GDP numbers or to listen to economists. All I need to do is listen to the American people. They’ve been asking the question now for eighteen months: where are the jobs? The fact is the President’s policies are killing job creation in America, killing our economy, and the American people know it. That’s why, we are going to continue what we think are better solutions. Let’s stop this stimulus spending. All it’s doing is running up the debt on the backs of our kids and grandkids. Let’s make sure we’re not going to increase taxes and a time when our economy is so weak. All the things that my colleagues across the aisle want to do.

So if I have this straight, the Republicans--who have obstructed pretty much every bill that comes along, including ones designed to stimulate the economy and help hurting Americans--but Boehner doesn't need to listen to economists (like say, Alan Greenspan) to know that we have to stop spending stimulus money.

Uh, stop spending money means killing the stimulus means killing job creation means killing the economy.

Maybe you should reconsider not listening to economists, Boehner.

Lord knows, it will probably be less painful than last year's summer recess listening tours.

Transcripts below the fold

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Sure, Paul may still have to live down "Silly Love Songs." But little moments like these remind us of the puckish rebel of his youth:

McCartney ended the evening taking a baseless cheap shot at former President George W. Bush.

“After the last eight years, it’s great to have a President who knows what a library is,” McCartney quipped.

Republicans seem to have forgotten that The Beatles always had a way of poking fun at conservatives -- and they never were compelled to hold their tongues, either.

Which is why Mr. Tanning Bed, John Boehner, immediately put up a big whine:

“Like millions of other Americans, I have always had a good impression of Paul McCartney and thought of him as a classy guy, but I was surprised and disappointed by the lack of grace and respect he displayed at the White House,” Boehner told HUMAN EVENTS. “I hope he'll apologize to the American people for his conduct which demeaned him, the White House and President Obama.”

Not to mention that it also gave John Boehner a big fat opportunity to completely humiliate himself. Again.

You know, we keep hearing from conservatives that we liberals have no sense of humor. They mostly tell us this when they make jokes about rounding us up in concentration camps or directing terrorist attacks our way. But even the most prim-lipped liberal knows better than to be this dumb.

Gotta wonder what Boehner will do if McCartney declines to apologize. Maybe he and his fellow House Republicans can burn Beatles records on the South Lawn or something.

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Mika and Joe have a great time bashing John Boehner after finding out the House minority leader's PAC spent almost $83K on golf outings.

Scarborough compared him to Evita Perón, who would show poor people her jewels so they would have something to aspire to. "Think about the people in his district who are out of work right," he said. "Thirty thousand dollars on one golf outing!" He noted that was more than most of the people in Boehner's district make in a year.

"Howard, you wouldn't do that, would you?" Mika asked Howard Dean.

"I don't play golf," Dean replies. (See why I love him?) He said it was difficult for Republicans to hold themselves up as the model for fiscal responsibility when they spent money on things like this.

A viewer wrote in to say Boehner's tan "was proof that global warming is real."

Rep. John Boehner's statements about the generals is causing a backlash in the military.

The Situation Room:

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House Majority Leader John Boehner: Wolf, I understand that, but let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on Rumsfeld.

Wolf Blitzer: But he's in charge of the military.

John Boehner: But the fact is the generals on the ground are in charge and he works closely with them and the president.

via Hoffmania

This is being reported in ALL the Military Times outlets (Army Times, Navy Times, etc.). You know. Something the troops see every day.

(If you can put up with listening, here's Ingraham and Boehner's discussion)

It had to happen. Republicans are turning on each other as this idiotic debt ceiling drama plays out. Earlier today a staffersent out emails attacking Boehner's plan and the leadership found out.

House GOP leaders spent Wednesday afternoon trying to smooth over deep divisions in their party that erupted into public view after a heated conference meeting in which Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (OH) was dressed down for an aide's attacks on Speaker John Boehner's (OH) debt-limit proposal.

During the morning meeting, Jordan professed not to know about his top staffer's e-mails to outside conservative groups complaining about Boehner's proposal and urging the groups to launch coordinated assaults on the plan and its lack of a balanced budget component.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), read the text of the e-mail he said that Paul Teller, the RSC's top staffer, sent to outside activists and upbraided Teller for using information in a closed-door GOP conference meeting against Boehner and GOP leaders. One GOP staffer, however, told TPM the email referenced above was not sent by Paul Teller, despite reports to the contrary.

RSC spokesman Brian Straessle apologized in a statement, saying: "This action was clearly inappropriate and was not authorized by the Chairman or any other members of the staff. This has never been -- and never will be -- the way we do business at the RSC."

And guess who's backing Boehner's plan?

Afterward, Cantor told the members it was disappointing to see Republicans fighting with each other on TV when he expected to see them fighting with Democrats. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) spoke out in favor of Boehner's plan. Cantor will attend a meeting with House GOP freshmen Wednesday afternoon.

Discussions are now underway about "staff changes" at the RSC, a powerful group of fiscal conservatives within the conference, but Jordan afterward received strong support from likeminded members.

You know Ryan, Cantor and Boehner are slaves to Wall Street so at this point Boehner is in open revolt against the base of his caucus as he told Laura Ingraham that the Tea Party wants chaos to rain down us all to force their balanced budget garbage.

thereisnospoon:

In case you were wondering about that zombie death cult thing:

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said today that some members of his own caucus who are refusing to agree to a compromise debt ceiling deal are hoping to unleash “chaos” and thus force the White House and Senate Democrats to make bigger concessions than they’re already offering. As many as 40 House Republicans, especially Tea Party members and freshmen, have demanded nothing short of changing the Constitution to include a balanced budget amendment before they would vote to raise debt ceiling, even though that has zero chance before the U.S. faces potential default on Aug. 2.

Speaking on conservative radio host Laura Ingraham’s show this morning, Boehner agreed that failing to raise the limit before the deadline would be devastating, and said the “chaos” plan won’t work when asked by Ingraham what’s motivating the recalcitrant Republicans:

BOEHNER: Well, first they want more. And my goodness, I want more too. And secondly, a lot of them believe that if we get past August the second and we have enough chaos, we could force the Senate and the White House to accept a balanced budget amendment. I’m not sure that that — I don’t think that that strategy works. Because I think the closer we get to August the second, frankly, the less leverage we have vis a vis our colleagues in the Senate and the White House.

These folks aren't in the business of doing Wall Street's bidding. They're in the business of bringing the system down to create their own new order, no different from a Maoist or Leninist revolutionary on the other side of the aisle. It's a market fundamentalist cult. They are a sizable and growing minority of the Republican caucus, and the ones who don't toe their line are terrified their heads will be the next to fall before the Tea Party guillotine.

All the grand poobah's of the GOP are supporting Boehner's plan now like Bill Kristol, WSJ, Grover Norquist, Allen West and many others.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have come out against Boehner's plan. I do believe Boehner is going to need Democratic votes to pass his bill so we'll see what happens. And don''st forget R-Mike Lee telling Chris Matthews he forcing default if he doesn't get his way.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Monday that he is giving Congress ten days to pass a constitutional amendment that would make raising taxes nearly impossible. And if he doesn’t get what he wants, he will do everything in his power to force the U.S. to default on its debts.