John Boehner: Ally or Enemy?

Today Ohio Republican Congressman and Speaker of the House Wannabe John Boehner is taking umbrage at some remarks that President Obama made on the Spanish language network Univision. President Obama said this:

“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies, and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us’ …. then I think it’s going to be harder.”

Enemies.

The Face of the Enemy

Now, while the President didn’t exactly say who he meant were the enemies of Latino voters, John Boehner figured it out. He knows who Barack Obama thinks are the enemies of Latino voters, and the enemy is him.

He and other Republicans.

And Boehner doesn’t like being referred to as an enemy.

This is what he crafted to say in response this evening:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a president in the White House who referred to Americans who disagree with him as ‘our enemies.’ Think about that. He actually used that word. When Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush used the word ‘enemy,’ they reserved it for global terrorists and foreign dictators — enemies of the United States. Enemies of freedom. Enemies of our country.”

I guess John Boehner doesn’t like that word.

But here is the truth. John Boehner has it out for Latinos, as does any given Republican. You don’t even have to guess if that’s true because actions speak much, much louder than words. Here are the words of Rep. Luis Gutierrez D-Ill published at The Hill last week:

“On immigration, the question is not whether you are a Pelosi-Obama Democrat, but whether you are a Lamar Smith-John Boehner-Steve King Republican. When it comes down to it, putting people like Smith-Boehner-King at the helm of national immigration policy is a guarantee of more gridlock and chaos. Rep. Steve King of Iowa -- who makes Jim Sensenbrenner look like Dolores Huerta by comparison -- has called for electrified fencing on the border because he has found it effective for controlling "livestock." And if the recent past is any indication, we can expect any number of anti-Latino voter intimidation dirty tricks in the coming weeks in addition to the ads telling Latinos not to vote. We need to make it crystal clear to voters who favor a fair and humane immigration system that a vote for any GOP House or Senate candidate is a vote for the status quo on immigration or worse.”

One definition of the word enemy goes along these lines;

“Enemy (noun). A person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent.”

Or if you really want a good definition, look at the meaning of the antonym for enemy, ally.

“Ally (Noun). A person who associates or cooperates with another; supporter.”

John Boehner, is, by definition, the enemy of Latino voters. So are his allies.

If John Boehner objects so much to being called an enemy of Latino voters by the President, then maybe he should stop acting like one.