In the clash of the fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) exchanged some heated, school house barbs on Friday. According to a Huffington Post article on January 2, 2013, the two men abdicated their title of “gentleman” in the White House lobby.
Several high ranking sources described the altercation concerning their disagreement about the debt ceiling, tax increases and spending cuts.
Boehner pointed at Reid while exiting their talks and shouted: “Go f**k yourself.”
"What are you talking about?" Reid asked.
And Boehner again said, "Go f**k yourself."
The gossamer and poetic dialogue between the two took place not long after Mr. Reid took to the senate floor stating that Boehner could have ended the standoff on the fiscal cliff much earlier by bringing up legislation the senate had previously passed for a vote. In Reid’s senate oratory, he also accused Mr. Boehner of serving his own party’s interests before the country’s. “[The House of Representatives] is being operated by a dictatorship of the speaker, not allowing the vast majority of the House to get what they want.”
Representative Boehner’s speakership, though assured for re-election to his speakership, this incident is only one of several in recent weeks that may place his position in question. Most notably yelling at a member of his own party yesterday. According to Rep. Peter King (R-New York), Boehner refused to discuss a relief bill for victims actually yelling at one republican congressman, “I’m not meeting with you people!”
Despite all the sharp words, the fiscal cliff bill did pass and is set to be signed by President Obama today.
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