Freedom Line Blog

House Speaker John Boehner got himself in hot water last night when he appeared to be saying that people who opposed TARP were knuckle-draggers. I think it is very fair to assume, on close examination, that he did not mean, nor does he believe, that to be the case.

I explain the whole thing here.

The key new thing to report is the clarifying statement I received from the Speaker’s office, which responded with admirable promptness:

“The Speaker said Paul Ryan is a practical conservative, and that Paul Ryan is not a knuckledragger.  He did not say those who opposed TARP are knuckledraggers, and he does not believe TARP opponents are knuckledraggers.  He did not say tea partiers are knuckledraggers, and he does not believe tea partiers are knuckledraggers.  To the contrary, he has enormous respect for the tea party movement, which reflects the will of the American people and their desire for a government that respects our Constitution.  Whether you supported or opposed TARP, we all can agree the crony capitalist philosophy of forcing responsible taxpayers to subsidize irresponsible behavior – perpetuated and perfected under President Obama – has wrecked our economy, and has to end.”

Dave Schnittger

Deputy Chief of Staff

Office of the Speaker