Talk:John Boehner

Tuskegee

Should the incident regarding his mispronounciation of "Tuskegee" be included in here?

Name

Djramey saw fit to delete my entry here, so I thought I'd elaborate. Someone in the such a high position as House Majority Leader having a name that is a homonym of "boner" is highly relevent and encyclopedic.

If you can prove why this may be important and/or factual I'd be interested to hear the results. Elsewise, please keep such posts away from Wikipedia as they have no substance or reason. His name is not pronounced Bone-er as discussed below, but Bay-ner, thus making it not a Homonym.--Djramey 12:51, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Rep. Boehner Named Majority Leader

Updates have began to fill in. Keep up the good work and let's try to get this page updated and factual. I made a change in the text body about other candidates for the new position. (See: Rep. Blunt and Rep. Shadegg)--Djramey 19:12, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

FYI see the article U.S. House Republican Leader election, 2006 - Jord 19:21, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Gang of Seven

The article lists the Gang of Seven is a group of young homosexual conservatives. I think a vandal is at work.

pronounciation

Is it BONE-er or BAHN-er? Kingturtle 20:17, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

I think it's BAY-ner. Not 100% though. 141.213.134.16 20:25, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Oh, come on, who is this guy kidding? Haha. Anyway, everywhere on TV/radio I've heard the name it's been BAY-ner. 68.239.131.197 03:50, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Just wanted to confirm that it's pronounced BAY-ner. —This user has left wikipedia 12:13 2006-02-03

"Baner" is correct because proper nouns can be pronounced in any way possible because they are not in the dictionary and should ideally not be subject to its rules. That's why we say (Michael) JORdan, not JorDAN.

Furthermore, we pronounce "reign" like "rain," not "REE-gn" so I see no reason why "boehn" cannot be pronounced as "bain."

Request for expansion

Unlikely victory, his article can't compare with Delay's article or with the Democratic Minority Leader. It's time to expand and give Rep Boehner the article he deserves. —This user has left wikipedia 20:47 2006-02-02

Religion

Curious, how important is it to list Boehner's religion in the box under his photo? Not saying it should be removed, but maybe replaced to a more appropriate spot on the page. What does everyone else think?--Djramey 12:57, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

I agree wholeheartedly. Our constitution has a no religious test clause for a reason. Wolverineblue 02:18, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I think erroring on the side of providing more information, rather than less. I mean why wouldn't you list his religion?--M4bwav 02:22, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

It's somewhat untoward. You could argue that his race, ethnicity and sexual preference should be listed but people would ask what purpose it serves when describing a politician. That said, the politician infobox is pretty standard now and most list religion. I would probably change the "Roman Catholic" to just "Catholic" as that is the standard terminalogy but keep the link to the RC Church. Tbeatty 03:08, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Untoward how so, the history of voting in America has been along race, ethnic and religious lines, nothing could be more relevant. As far as, just mentioning Catholic, you got a lot of nerve insulting orthodox catholics like that, jk. Is there a single federal Orthodox catholic politican in America?--M4bwav 03:52, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

If we're going to remove a description of Boehner's religion from his infobox, the same effort ought to be made for all politicians, in the interests of consistency. The wiki profiles for Brownback, Pelosi, and Kennedy all list Roman Catholicism. If it's relevant for them, it's relevant for John Boehner. Of course, the reverse is also true.

His official bio

U.S. Representative John Boehner (OH-8) John Boehner (Bay-ner), elected to represent the Eighth Congressional District of Ohio for an eighth term in November 2004, continues to be a key leader in the fight for a smaller, more accountable federal government.

Born in Cincinnati in November 1949 as one of 12 brothers and sisters, John has lived in Southwest Ohio his entire life. He and his wife Debbie have been married for 32 years. They have two daughters – Lindsay and Tricia – and live in the northern Cincinnati suburb of West Chester. After graduating from Cincinnati’s Moeller High School, in 1968, John earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Xavier University in Cincinnati in 1977.

Upon his graduation, he accepted a position with Nucite Sales, a small sales business in the packaging and plastics industry, and eventually became president of the firm. While working in the private sector, John entered the political arena – first serving as Union Township trustee from 1982 to 1984 and then as a representative to the Ohio state legislature from 1984 to 1990.

In 1990, he was elected to represent Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. During his tenure in the House, he has worked consistently to reform the federal government. His first two terms in the House were marked by an aggressive campaign to clean up Congress and make it more accountable to the American people. In fact, during his freshman year, Boehner and fellow members of the reform-minded "Gang of Seven" took on the House establishment and successfully closed the House Bank, uncovered "dine-and-dash" practices at the House Restaurant, and exposed drug sales and cozy cash-for-stamps deals at the House Post Office.

John was also active in education reform issues, despite serving in the minority at the time. In 1994, he passed legislation with strong bipartisan support allowing school districts to use their Title I funds for public school choice programs, under which parents could choose which public school their children would attend. Later, John was instrumental in crafting the Contract with America, the bold 100-day agenda for the 104th Congress that nationalized the 1994 elections. One of the Contract's cornerstones - the Congressional Accountability Act, requiring Congress to live under the same rules and regulations as the rest of the nation - bears the unmistakable imprint of his drive to reform the House.

The success of John's reform-minded agenda earned him election to the House Republican leadership after the Republican election victories in 1994. While in Congress, John has never lost sight of the need for greater fiscal responsibility in the federal government - a hallmark of his career as a small business owner. As House Republican Conference Chairman in the 104th and 105th Congress, John was a powerful voice in the fight to force Washington to stick to the strict spending limits in the Balanced Budget Act. And in September 1999, as Vice-Chairman of the House Administration Committee, John joined House Speaker Dennis Hastert to announce the first-ever "clean" independent audit of the House – a reform he first called for as a member of the Gang of Seven in 1992. "It was a proud day for the man who joined the committee in part because of his expertise in accountability and advocacy of government entities run by private-sector principles," Roll Call, a top Capitol Hill news source, observed.

In January 2001, John opened a new chapter in his congressional career when he was selected by House Republicans to chair the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. In accepting the post, John pledged to work with his committee colleagues – "Republican and Democrat alike – to make positive reforms for Americans from grade school to the golden years." As committee chair, he has helped deliver on President George W. Bush’s promise to reform America’s education system. In May 2001, the House passed John’s No Child Left Behind Act, a bill based on the President’s reform plan, with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. This success was highlighted by The Almanac of American Politics, which noted, “Putting together a bipartisan education package on a committee which has long been one of the most partisan in Congress…was a considerable achievement. Boehner now seems to be a more powerful member than ever.”

On January 8, 2002 President Bush culminated more than a year of intense legislative activity by signing the No Child Left Behind Act in Hamilton - a city in Ohio's Eighth District. And he did so in what he called one of the most important places in America: a public school. On the heels of this historic success, Boehner is now leading his committee as it tackles a wide variety of other issues including retirement security, higher education affordability and quality, special education reform, and expanded school choice.

Meanwhile, John continues to serve as Vice-Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, on which he is a consistent free market voice for Ohio’s farmers and ranchers. In his leadership positions on both of these key congressional committees, John is certain to have a major impact on the national legislative agenda during the 109th Congress - which is good news for the Ohio families he represents on Capitol Hill.

Is it really necessary?

I thought it was a bit gratuitous to mention Abramoff several times in reference to Boehner. Isn't this just a partisan attack in the hopes that if you mention an accusation enough times, it will stick? I thought one reference was enough.

well, it probably will stick. but you're right, i removed it from the gang of seven reference Derex 19:56, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Rented apartment

I think it is way too early to asy anything about the apartment. While it is news, it doesn't appear to be anything untoward or out of the ordinary. He pays market rate for a apartment he uses as a convenience. It suggests only that he is friends with John Milne. IT is not illegal or unethical to be friends with a lobbyist. SHow that he received some sort of illicit benefit or something nefarious before trying to insnuate a charge. I left the news. I took out the unjustified extrapolation. Tbeatty 20:45, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

Boehner's agenda blueprint, "For a Majority that Matters," is perhaps noteworthy for its juvenility, if you care to read it: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/boehner_majoritythatmatters010906.pdf (e.g. “The most powerful limitations are those we put on ourselves.” --Me. Now.)

Estate Tax Quote Caption

I removed the remark in the quote caption that references to how the estate tax affects less than 2% of the wealthiest estates. It is unnecessary for establishing the context of the quote and inserts uneeded bias into this article. It is sufficient to remark that he is speaking of the estate tax and nothing more.

How Do You Pronounce his Last Name?

"Baner" is correct because proper nouns can be pronounced in any way possible because they are not in the dictionary and are not subject to its rules. That's why we say (Michael) JORdan, not JorDAN.

Furthermore, we pronounce "reign" like "rain," not "REI-gn" so I see no reason why "boehn" cannot be pronounced as "bain."

Smoker

How is Boehner being a "very heavy smoker" notable? Mykll42 22:16, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

It's not really notable---but then, neither is the space alloted to the discussion of the 2 women who made sexual assault allegations against Clinton in the main Wiki article on Bill Clinton. There's not a shred of evidence that these allegations are true (or that the women were anything other than pawns of the GOP slime machine). If Wiki is going to include every nutcase allegation against Clinton, then how about mentioning the controversy that Bush secured an abortion for his girlfriend in 1971 (which is mentioned nowhere in Wikipedia). Wikipedia has really gone downhill these days; it's nothing more than a mouthpiece of the GOP.

Quotes

The selected quotes (a) need to moved into Wikiquote and (b) are inherently POV since Wikipedians have themselves decided that these quotes represent Boehner. --ElKevbo 03:13, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

There is no POV involved--they accurately reflect Boehner's views. Users need to see them. Rjensen 03:21, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

How were those specific quotes, and no others, selected? --ElKevbo 03:24, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

all editors select material--otherwise this page would be 50 times longer. The two quotes deal with taxes (which is a bg deal for Boehner) and with his role as minority leader. The question is do they misrepresent him--does he really favor higher taxes and this is a misleading quote? I doubt it. Rjensen 03:27, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

So it's your point of view that those quotes represent him, correct? I'm still unclear on why those quotes are even necessary instead of working them into the prose. I'm also unclear on why they're here and not in Wikiquote. --ElKevbo 03:32, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

ElKevbo makes the good point they should be worked into the text, so I did that. (No, I was not the one tat selected the quotes, but I think they do reflect his positions.) Rjensen 03:38, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Works for me! Appreciate your patience and hard work! --ElKevbo 03:43, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

On the verge of tears?

The article says he was "on the verge of tears" when he spoke on May 25, 2007. Uh, actually he WAS crying. He was bawling his eyes out in that bizarre episode.