The Fruits of John Boehner’s surrender

A couple of weeks ago a standoff caused the shut down of the Federal Aviation administration. The standoff was over the issue of subsidies to small rural airports. The GOP picked this as a pork issue and the Party of Corruption simply wanted to keep this going to buy more votes.

Of course, Boehner surrendered after two weeks, accomplishing nothing except angering about 100,000 voters.

How about these flights to nowhere?

From AP:

On some days, the pilots with Great Lakes Airlines fire up a twin-engine Beechcraft 1900 at the Ely, Nev., airport and depart for Las Vegas without a single passenger on board. And the federal government pays them to do it.

Federal statistics reviewed by The Associated Press show that in 2010, just 227 passengers flew out of Ely while the airline got $1.8 million in subsidies. The travelers paid $70 to $90 for a one-way ticket. The cost to taxpayers for each ticket: $4,107.

Ely is one of 153 rural communities where airlines get subsidies through the $200 million Essential Air Service program, and one of 13 that critics say should be eliminated from it. Some call the spending a boondoggle, but others see it as a critical financial lifeline to ensure economic stability in rural areas.

Steve Smith, executive director of the Jackson, Tenn., airport authority, also has seen empty or near empty flights take off, since the airlines get paid per flight, not per passenger. The subsidy amounted to $244 for each of the 2,514 people who flew out of Smith's airport last year, though few if any passengers knew that.

"They fly the empty plane so they can still get the money," Smith said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AVIATION_SHUTDOWN_RURAL_S...

Flying the plane empty so they can get the money?

Why is the government keeping this up? Jackson Tennessee is in Tennessee’s 8^th Congressional District. Their Congressman, Steve Fincher, ran as one of the Tea Party candidates. Why does he keep this money coming?

Ely Nevada is the home turf of Harry Reid, Chief Thief in the Senate. We know why he keeps the subsidy flowing.

This is the kind of wasteful spending the GOP needs to be eliminating. Unfortunately, while John Boehner leads the House of Representatives that will never happen. Boehner only likes a fight so he can haul up his freshly laundered white flag of surrender.

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Permalink Reply by Norma J. Sears on August 13, 2011 at 10:29am

This is the stablished cultural of DC. The spoiled brats spend money on anything they want or allow themselves to be bought by those who want special payback. Anyone (as we recently witnessed) who "bucks the system" is chastised or his/her district is redesigned.

I know most are just as sick of this as I am. Were I young and healthy, I would be running for something or doing all I could do physically for someone who standing on principals.

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Permalink Reply by Laurie Brown on August 13, 2011 at 11:16am

All the INFO on WASTE! http://www.cagw.org/newsroom/waste-watcher/

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Permalink Reply by Kenneth H Wallace on August 13, 2011 at 11:49am

"Of course, Boehner surrendered after two weeks, accomplishing nothing except angering about 100,000 voters."

I think you are missing three zero's here. I certainly hope so.

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Permalink Reply by William Eckel on August 13, 2011 at 12:32pm

I just finished listening to Perry's speech announcing his Presidential bid. All i can say is, despite who you like or what everyone has done, they had better ratchet it up! The man can campaign. Game on.

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Permalink Reply by Sick of It on August 13, 2011 at 12:59pm

Boehner -- is that french for FRENCH?

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Shea on August 13, 2011 at 1:17pm

There is a "not-very-nice" article written by a former Navy Seal and published in the Canada Free Press today that is critical of the Tea Party's lack of action.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/39416

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Permalink Reply by Brad Myers on August 13, 2011 at 1:26pm

The spending madness in Washington is absolutely UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Billy Bowlegs on August 13, 2011 at 1:46pm

The title to this one keeps blowing my mind - mainly becuse of the great numbers of Barney's and Harry's in government.

I flip each time I see the email title to this link - Fruit of .... "Mental Picture is Boehner loosing his Fruit of the Loom's"

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Williams on August 13, 2011 at 2:52pm

If it wasn't before, is it now time to can Bohner?

There was a lot of dialog the last time I made that suggestion.

Now he has waved the white flag in the budget fiasco. What else will he surrender and we pay for his ineptitude?

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Permalink Reply by Edward M. Plitt on August 13, 2011 at 4:56pm

There is no doubt about it John Boehner, has to go. He doesn't know how to hold his ground. We didn't vote for the Republicans so that they could compromise with the Democrats. We voted for them to STOP the Democrats. Let's all stop beating around the bush. Marxists/socialist, have taken over the Democrat party. They are after the bigest prize on the planet The United States of America. In their attempt to take over this country they are testroying it's economy like they have every country they have taken over. Do you want to compromise with that philosophy and by doing so help them acheive their goal? I would hope we would fight them at every turn and with every fiber of our patriotic being and with every means at our disposal. Mr. Bohner has proven he lacks that fiber.

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Permalink Reply by Doug Sheets on August 13, 2011 at 8:42pm

The reason Boehner can pretend to be a conservative and cave on a moments notice is he knows that congress has had a 90+% retention rate for the last 20 or 30 years. John Murtha described it best when he said, " I can say anything I want and I'll still get re-elected." So unless the whole country abandons the "My representative is OK, it's all the others I don't like" attitude, then we will always be stuck with career pols. Next fall, dump them all I say. Sometimes you just have to throw the baby out with the bathwater so you can get clean water.