Boehner will probably stay awake during Netanyahu's speech.
House Speaker John Boehner says he
he meant to do that.
John Boehner, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, said he kept the White House out of the loop when he invited Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress because he did not want it to interfere.
“I wanted to make sure that there was no interference,” Rep. Boehner (R-Ohio), said Sunday in an interview with Chris Wallace on the Fox News Channel.
Where "interference" means pointing out that the Congress seeking to subvert American foreign policy by granting prestigious speechmaking opportunities to foreign leaders also seeking to subvert that American foreign policy is a hell of a move, even for a Congress whose signature moves have all been similar attempts to sabotage the American president even at the expense of shutting down the government itself, or just the Department of Homeland Security, or whatever else you've got. Boehner also clarifies that yes, the Congress really does mean the visit as a specific rebuttal to Obama's foreign policy. House Republicans have long been agitating for military attacks against Iran and see White House negotiations to avoid that as being something that itself needs to be stopped.
Boehner said he wanted Netanyahu to speak in part because he wants him to rebut Obama’s claims that nuclear talks underway between Iran and the major powers are constructive.
“It is no secret here in Washington about the animosity this White House for Prime Minister Netanyahu,” he said. “I simply didn’t want them getting in the way and quashing what I thought was a real opportunity.”
None of this has been going very well for the Republicans, but there seems no evidence that it will be used as a learning opportunity. Netanyahu will give his speech, and knowing Bibi's past work it will be something to behold, and Boehner will be behind him giving him standing ovations that he couldn't muster for his own country's leader. The original intent was to build support for the Republican bomb-first policy when it comes to Iran, but the net effect seems to be nothing but another reminder of the extreme steps Boehner and his caucus will take to undermine the president that they have so committed themselves to hating that they are willing to damage whatever part of the government needs damaging in order to make that point.