Monday, 12/13/21

John Boehner, Ohio Republican, was Speaker of the House from 2011-2015, then resigning from Congress in disgust.

Fun excerpt from his memoir:

“At one point in the mid-1990s, I got fed up and decided to yank their chains anyway. I was on the Agriculture Committee and we were getting ready to put together the 1996 farm bill. I walked into my office while this was going on and found a sugar lobbyist hanging around, trying to stay close to the action. I felt like being a smart-ass so I made some wisecrack about the sugar industry raping the taxpayers. Without another word, I walked into my private office and shut the door.

I had no real plan to go after the sugar people. I was just screwing with the guy. My phone did not stop ringing for the next five weeks. The guy must have walked straight out of my office to the nearest phone booth (or maybe he had a cell phone even then—these guys were loaded) and called his office and announced: “Boehner, Ohio 8th—Code Red.”

I had no idea how many people in my district were connected to the sugar industry. People were calling all day, telling me they made pumps or plugs or boxes or some other such part used in sugar production and I was threatening their job. Mayors called to tell me about employers their towns depended on who would be hurt by a sugar downturn. It was the most organized effort I had ever seen.

And that’s why you don’t fuck with sugar.”

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Currently a shill for pot. Dope for the dopes.