(Yuri Gripas/Reuters)
John Boehner's final pitch:
A large number of conservative Republicans are opposing Boehner’s proposal, arguing it does not go far enough in reducing government spending.
But Boehner said he couldn’t understand why any Republicans would position themselves with Democrats opposing his plan.
“Barack Obama hates it, Harry Reid hates it, Nancy Pelosi hates it,” he said, naming off the Democratic leadership.
Keep in mind that John Boehner's plan would require Congress to cut between $1.6 and $1.8 trillion from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in order to raise the debt ceiling past the end of the year.
You'd think that setting up that kind of a hostage crisis would be enough to convince Republicans to support his awful proposal. But no, he has to pitch it as something that Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid all hate.
But if that's his pitch now, what will he say when he has to whip up support for a plan that Democrats will actually approve?
11:06 AM PT: In the same interview, Boehner admitted that "a lot" of House Republicans want to cause a default because they think it will force the White House and Senate to agree to a balanced budget amendment. It says something that his response isn't to try to work out a deal with Nancy Pelosi, but rather to pitch a proposal that Democrats have vowed to oppose.