Boehner puts pride before country

Anthony Barron, Mesquite

Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 | 2:02 a.m.

Help, please! Someone has kidnapped my uncle and is holding him for ransom. I’ve received a picture of a man holding a gun to my uncle’s head with a ransom note saying, “Give in to my demands or the old man gets it!” Wait, I recognize that man. It’s ... why it’s John Boehner, the speaker of the House, holding the gun to my Uncle Sam’s head.

His demands are the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. You know, it’s the one that originated from the conservative Heritage Foundation, was embraced and enacted by Republican Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, is supported by the majority of the American people and has survived over 40 repeal attempts.

Tired of his failures, Boehner has shut down the government in a fit of pique, saying, “If you won’t play by my rules, I’m going to take my ball and go home.”

But it’s not your ball, Mr. Boehner. It’s the American people’s ball, and you have no right to threaten us.

Despite the fact that a majority of both houses of Congress would support a continuing resolution to fund the government, Boehner won’t allow it. This causes untold job losses and permanent damage to our country’s reputation. He defies fundamental democratic concepts, fiscal responsibility and basic decency.

A major part of this situation stems from the fact that when you elect people who say that “government is the problem,” they are then in a position to make that come true.

It is time for you to stop holding your breath, Mr. Boehner, stop turning blue, act like an adult, fund the government and get on the with the business of helping run the country, not run it into the ground.