John Beohner has an alcohol problem

[Yoder777]

John Beohner's alcoholism is no secret to Washington insiders, including former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough:

GOP House Leader A Lazy Drunk? - YouTube

It's well known in Washington D.C. that John Boehner has an alcohol problem. As someone in recovery, the last thing I want is an unrecovered alcoholic holding our country hostage to his diseased mind:

https://www.google.com/#psj=1&q=%22john+boehner%22+%22alcoholic%22&spell=1

The twelve step program teaches rigorous honesty, something John Boehner could definitely use more of.

In almost every picture of John Boehner, you can see the signs of chronic alcoholism, such as his dazed eyes, red nose, and red cheeks.
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2135/12119137/21603570/391592061.jpg

In this picture, he's obviously wearing makeup, including mascara, to cover it all up:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped....jpg/480px-John_Boehner_official_portrait.jpg

Other members of Congress have shared that he routinely smells of alcohol and it's no secret that he's in bars frequented by Congressman almost everyday. Is this really the person that we want to trust with the future of our country?

The megalomania that Beohner has expressed by shutting down the government is a classic symptom of the alcoholic mind. Even conservatives are starting to express worry that his alcohol problem is a serious liability for the party.

Sources close to embattled Speaker of the House John Boehner says the smell of alcohol is far more prevalent on him these days as the continuing government shutdown showcases his failure as a House leader and his obsession with keeping his job above all else in a deepening national crisis...
Speaker John Boehner: An out-of-control drunk who can’t lead or govern?

On a basic human level, I feel sorry for this man. Please keep in mind that the cycle of addiction is generational if one doesn't seek help. John Boehner's daughter recently married a man who was arrested for pot possession:

House Speaker John Boehner's daughter ties knot with Jamaican-born beau - NY Daily News

From a Catholic perspective, is John Boehner a good role model for Catholics who aspire to leadership? Why are politicians like Boehner who insist on family values so out of control in their personal lives? What is his relationship to Lisbeth Lyons?

 

[AMDG]

That's all right. It seems that there are bullies and children running our government right now, so why not yet another problem.

Things keep up the way they are, we'll all be saying that we have a drinking problem. We'll all be driven to drink.

 

[Michie]

Wow. I can't believe how low people go with this personal stuff. It is one thing to critique his job? Personal stuff? not so much. It just reeks of desperation.

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

Wow. I can't believe how low people go with this personal stuff. It is one thing to critique his job? Personal stuff? not so much. It just reeks of desperation.

True, although one might wonder if alcoholism negatively effects job performance in this case. I also have to wonder why it's a low blow to attack Boehner with these sort of personal attacks but when it's a personal attack on Obama it's just fine. People, including posters here and celebs like James Woods go beyond criticizing the job the president is doing with their personal attacks.

 

[AMDG]

Wow. I can't believe how low people go with this personal stuff. It is one thing to critique his job? Personal stuff? not so much. It just reeks of desperation.

Michie, it happens. Remember how Bush was so hated? They even made a movie claiming that he was a drunk in the White House when he quit years back. He was smeared "six ways to Sunday". And five years into another president's term, Bush was still being blamed for things that were even obviously chronologically false. It happens. It's called politics.

Sad really.

 

[Michie]

True, although one might wonder if alcoholism negatively effects job performance in this case. I also have to wonder why it's a low blow to attack Boehner with these sort of personal attacks but when it's a personal attack on Obama it's just fine. People, including posters here and celebs like James Woods go beyond criticizing the job the president is doing with their personal attacks.

It all makes me sick. Partisan politics are holding the country hostage. Nobody wants to work together & get anything done. They just want to dictate & vilify.

The average person on the street cannot discuss these things without doing the exact same thing.
Like little zombies.

We are divided. But to bring up personal issues, a politician's kid's etc., what does that accomplish other than adding fuel to an already blazing fire.

 

[Antigone]

It all makes me sick. Partisan politics are holding the country hostage. Nobody wants to work together & get anything done. They just want to dictate & vilify.

Analysts are now predicting the global economy could take a tumble because of this political grandstanding.

So yeah, let's keep making petty insults.

Statistically it's likely that he is an alcoholic; but I bet most people in Washington drink way too much. It's a high stress job and it's also part of the general atmosphere to meet and have a drink while talking.

But I'd say that, unless there is direct evidence (say, a picture of Boehner doing lines of coke) we refrain from speculating.

Mind you, I still dislike Boehner and I think he's an idiot and one of those most responsible for this crisis, but that's not a reason to make things up.

 

[Wolseley]

Frankly, if I had to deal with Reid, Pelosi, Rangel, and Obama on a steady basis every day, I'd drink, too.

Lots.

 

[Fantine]

The Tea Party renegades in his ranks would make 'anyone' overdo the Long Island iced teas.

Speaking of 'iced teas,' could we put them in a cryogenic chamber until they lose their reelection bids in November, 2014? They don't get anything accomplished anyway, and they certainly wouldn't be missed.

 

[Wolseley]

The Tea Party renegades in his ranks would make 'anyone' overdo the Long Island iced teas.

Speaking of 'iced teas,' could we put them in a cryogenic chamber until they lose their reelection bids in November, 2014? They don't get anything accomplished anyway, and they certainly wouldn't be missed.

As long as you put the Democrats and Obama in there with them, you got a DEAL.

 

[AMDG]

Frankly, if I had to deal with Reid, Pelosi, Rangel, and Obama on a steady basis every day, I'd drink, too.

Lots.

 

[LoAmmi]

Since I would say the same thing to an article about Obama having a drinking problem....


Who cares? It only matters if it affects job performance and I don't think that's the case.

 

[MikeK]

Who cares? It only matters if it affects job performance and I don't think that's the case.

Agreed. Beohner's poor performance doesn't seem to be the result of his alledged alcohol problem, it results from him being not having the best interests of his country at heart. There's no need to go low when there are so many legitimate operformance issues to criticize the man for. Suggesting that Boehner has a drinking problem in complementary, in that it suggests that his critics have no sound arguments, just like the "Obama was born in Kenya and is a Muslim" or "George Bush is an alcoholic cocaine addict who bailed on his military service." Even if those claims were true, it wouldn't matter to me if they did their jobs well.

 

[AMDG]

What? No one want to accuse Obama for his drug problem? At least he admitted to one in his book--both marijuana and codeine that was supposedly so bad that it made his grades go south (at least according to Obama's book). Did he stop? (Well let's leave that out and instead note that he was buying drugs and "partying" as a Senator according to witnesses--which have since disappeared because of various reasons.)

 

[TheOtherHockeyMom]

What? No one want to accuse Obama for his drug problem? At least he admitted to one in his book--both marijuana and codeine that was supposedly so bad that it made his grades go south (at least according to Obama's book). Did he stop? (Well let's leave that out and instead note that he was buying drugs and "partying" as a Senator according to witnesses--which have since disappeared because of various reasons.)

People on all sides had done a decent job for the most part in agreeing that personal attacks were unnecessary and in poor taste. Better to criticize the policy not the person...right?


Oh well, keep it classy AMDG.

 

[Yoder777]

Wow. I can't believe how low people go with this personal stuff. It is one thing to critique his job? Personal stuff? not so much. It just reeks of desperation.

It's not surprising that you would react this way but it doesn't reflect a knowledge of what alcoholism is. Like I said, I am a recovering alcoholic and addict with over three years of sobriety. By attacking his personal character, I would be attacking myself.

This is not a character attack and I am sorry to people who fail to recognize the nature of alcoholism. This is a question of whether someone active in the addiction of alcoholism is fit for his office. It is not a matter of personal character. It is a matter of his health for the office.

Alcoholism is a spiritual, mental, and physical disease that needs treatment. It is not a matter of will power or personal moral failing. Someone who is active in alcoholism and who doesn't receive help should be admitted into a treatment program before returning to public office. It's a simple matter of his health for the job, not a personal attack.

John Boehner is drunk in this video and this is the man taking our economy to the verge of collapse. He needs some serious help and prayer.
Boehner Makes Fool Of Himself On Fox News - YouTube

Crying jags are a classic symptom of chronic alcoholism, which impairs the ability to control emotions. He belongs in the Betty Ford Clinic, not Congress.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGc4iGcWIrY

Are you able to trust someone who's been there and from one alcoholic to another, expresses sincere and honest concern for his mental and physical health? If left untreated, do you know what will ultimately happen to him?

 

[Yoder777]

What? No one want to accuse Obama for his drug problem? At least he admitted to one in his book--both marijuana and codeine that was supposedly so bad that it made his grades go south (at least according to Obama's book). Did he stop? (Well let's leave that out and instead note that he was buying drugs and "partying" as a Senator according to witnesses--which have since disappeared because of various reasons.)

The question is not whether someone used drugs and alcohol in the past. The question is whether a politician's current active using is affecting his job performance. It is not a matter of personal moral failing. It is not even a matter of partisan politics, since Republicans like Joe Scarborough, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage have expressed concern of his drinking as well.

This disease, "alcoholism", according to medical journals, if untreated, is known to cause "uncontrollable bawling, rapid mood changes and raging anger," according to Alcoholics Anonymous. The evidence of Boehner "alcoholic psychosis" and chronic depression has been on display numerous times on national TV, where the newly elected "Speaker" would burst into a torrent of tears whenever the host or interviewer, inadvertently, injected the word "kids" into the conversation. Boehner's congressional staff plays these crying outburst off by stating that "John is a very tender hearted person underneath his gruffness".
Send Boehner To The Betty Ford Clinic Not CONGRESS! - by WintropeMerrideth, The III - Newsvine

Speaking generally, Dr. Robert DuPont, who served as the second White House drug czar and was the first director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, tells me that "alcohol reduces inhibitions. Whatever emotion you have, you're more likely to express it [when drinking]." DuPont added that alcohol reduces the functioning of the frontal lobes, and "the frontal lobes have to do with judgment, which is why [intoxicated] people do impulsive behavior."



Alcohol also "brings out underlying emotions," explains Dr. Michael Fingerhood, an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. "It generally is unmasking what is inside them."



As is to be expected, Republican aides and lobbyists are not anxious to publicly discuss whether the incoming House speaker might have a drinking problem. And Boehner's staff declined to discuss the crying question at all. For his part, though, Boehner -- who was described in one profile as "a heavy-smoking, hard-drinking former linebacker" -- has made no secret of his affection for merlot, and those familiar with Capitol Hill know he frequents The Capitol Hill Club, as well as a favorite Italian restaurant on Capitol Hill, where he is frequently spotted sipping vino...

But the speculation is becoming more widespread. Earlier this year, Joe Scarborough noted of Boehner that "by 5 or 6 o'clock at night, you can see him at bars." And as Politico reported, "One of [Boehner's] GOP colleagues noted that Boehner cries more often later in the day."

Sometimes when he's tearing up, he also appears to be slurring words, as was the case during a 2007 floor speech. But even here it's impossible to diagnose (if the Terry Schiavo case taught us anything, it's not to diagnose something via video). Boehner's slurred words might simply be a result of his trying to speak loudly while not trying to cry. On the other hand, it should be noted that "occupational functioning" is frequently mentioned when defining "alcoholism."
John Boehner's Crying: Is He Drinking Too Much?

Late on Election Night, President Obama attempted to call Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, but was told that both were asleep. During the evening of New Year's Day, John Boehner refused to take phone calls from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Back during the negotiations over the debt ceiling in 2011, John Boehner refused to answer the president's phone calls, leading the president to complain to Bob Woodward.

"I was pretty angry," Obama told Woodward. "There's no doubt I thought it was profoundly irresponsible, at that stage, not to call me back immediately and let me know what was going on."​

Alcoholism is a sickness that should warrant people's sympathy rather than scorn. If John Boehner would ask for help or adopt a contrite attitude like Sen. Mike Crapo, it would be easy to lay off the criticism and not make such an issue of Boehner's drinking. But he can't do his job and he isn't available to come to the phone in the evenings.
He was so visibly hammered during his speech at the Republican National Convention (a tradition that goes back at least as far as the 1996 convention in San Diego) that Michael Savage played his whole speech on the radio in order to mock his drunkenness. He was absolutely plastered on election night in 2010 (a year in which Joe Scarborough called him a "lazy drunk" on the air). For years people have been speculating that Boehner weeps so often in public because he is drunk so often in public.
Personally, I wouldn't care about Boehner's drinking if her were just a congressman. But he's third in line to the presidency and he's blotto half the time. He can't answer phone calls from mayors and governors or even the president if those phone calls come late at night.

Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

Please read this part again, just to let it sink in:

Alcoholism is a sickness that should warrant people's sympathy rather than scorn. If John Boehner would ask for help or adopt a contrite attitude like Sen. Mike Crapo, it would be easy to lay off the criticism and not make such an issue of Boehner's drinking. But he can't do his job and he isn't available to come to the phone in the evenings.

Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community

 

[jazzflower92]

Yeah, having a drinking problem is no laughing matter especially if you are in a position like his.

 

[Dusky Mouse]

It also calls into question his competency as Speaker. Under the influence, is he drinking on the job? And chronic alcoholism also has an affect on the mental faculties as well, eroding the mind,the intellect, clearly the emotions.

Is there anything that could be invoked to remove Boehner from his position if his alcoholism was made an official issue? Any law, etc...?

 

[jazzflower92]

It also calls into question his competency as Speaker. Under the influence, is he drinking on the job? And chronic alcoholism also has an affect on the mental faculties as well, eroding the mind,the intellect, clearly the emotions.

Is there anything that could be invoked to remove Boehner from his position if his alcoholism was made an official issue? Any law, etc...?

Well, it can explain a lot.