John Boehner to the Christian Broadcasting Network:
In some of these states, you've got collective bargaining laws that are so weighted in favor of the public employees that there's almost no bargaining. We've given them a machine gun and put it right at the heads of the local officials and they really have their hands tied. And I think what you're seeing in these states is they're trying to bring some balance to these negotiations that when you look at the pay of public employees today and you look at their retirement benefits they are way out of line with many other working Americans.
Besides the flat out lie that public employees have wages and benefits that are out of line, perhaps Boehner should consider his choice of rhetorical devices. Guns to the heads of local officials? After Tucson, this should need no explanation, but were he a man of conscience Boehner's rhetoric might now include apologies to some public, local and national officials.