At last Speaker Boehner mans up

Savor the moment! John Boehner has found courage or at least the ability to run a bluff. Hear him say unequivocally the House GOP will not “pass a clean debt limit increase”. Maybe it's just acceptance of the reality that the House membership will not raise the debt limit cleanly with or without him but it's good to see the Speaker man up.

SPEAKER BOEHNER: Listen, the debt limit is right around the corner. The president saying, I won’t negotiate. I won’t have a conversation. Even though, President Reagan negotiated with Democrats who controlled the Congress back then. Even though President George Herbert Walker Bush had a conversation about raising the debt limit. During the Clinton administration, there were three fights over the debt limit. You and I participated in several of those. And even President Obama himself, in 2011, went through a negotiation. Now, he’s saying no. I’m not going to do this. I’ll tell you what, George. The nation’s credit is at risk because of the administration’s refusal to sit down and have a conversation.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: They’re saying it’s a risk because of your refusal to pass a clean debt limit act.
SPEAKER BOEHNER: We’re not going to pass a clean debt limit increase. I told the president, there’s no way we’re going to pass one. The votes are not in the house to pass a clean debt limit. And the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Under no circumstances will you pass a clean debt limit?
SPEAKER BOEHNER: We’re not going down that path. It is time to deal with america’s problems. How can you raise the debt limit and do anything about the underlying problem? George, we’ve spent more than what we’ve brought in for 55 of the last 60 years. This year, the federal government will have more revenue than any other year in the history of our country. And we’re going to have a $700 billion budget deficit. We’re squandering the future for our kids and grandkids, by not dealing with this problem.