DNC Slams Boehner in New Web Ad
In its ongoing campaign to portray Republicans as obstructionists who are offering no alternatives to President Barack Obama’s ambitious proposals, the Democratic National Committee on Saturday called out House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a Web ad full of withering criticism.
The ad makes reference to an interview Boehner gave to the New York Times, published Saturday, in which he appeared to suggest that Congressional Republicans are not obligated to offer alternatives to Obama’s initiatives, even if they oppose them.
GOP lawmakers, Boehner is quoted as saying in the Times, “ought to get the idea out of their minds that they are legislators.—
House Republican leaders have said in the past that because they don’t control the agenda, their main job is to propose alternatives and communicate those ideas to the American people. In fact, the Times article points out that the House GOP proposed its own economic stimulus plan.
The new Boehner ad is part of the DNC’s efforts to paint the GOP as “the party of no.— It follows the creation of a DNC “No Responsibility— Web site, which features a “Party of No clock,— which purports to tabulate how long it has been since Republican Members offered substantive policy proposals (16 days and counting, according to the DNC).
In the new anti-Boehner ad, a narrator says that Obama has offered “a responsible plan to create jobs by investing in health care, energy independence and schools. What are the Republicans offering? Nothing. No plans and no ideas.—
The ad goes on to call Boehner’s Times interview “incredible,— and concludes: “Congressman Boehner. That’s simply leadership we can’t afford.—
Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith blasted of the DNC ad.
“This Web ad may be the most poorly-researched piece I’ve ever seen, especially since the New York Times story the DNC cites completely discredits its entire premise,— Smith said. “Mr. Boehner said Republicans will be the party of better solutions on the opening day of this Congress before he handed the gavel to the Speaker, and we have followed through on that promise by offering better alternatives on SCHIP and the stimulus. We will do so again on the budget. Good try, but it doesn’t pass the straight-face test.—