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Reid: Boehner's Job 'Not as Important as Our Country'

Reid: Boehner's Job 'Not as Important as Our Country'

Friday, 04 October 2013 10:04 AM EDT

House Speaker John Boehner is worrying more about his job than about the American people as the federal government remains shuttered, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.

"The speaker has to be more concerned about his country than he is about his job," Reid said on CNN.

And that's just one example of the finger-pointing that continues into Day 4 of the federal-government shutdown.

Still, while House Republicans have worked on several bills to fund parts of the government such as national parks, the National Institutes of Health, and other essential operations, Reid refused to take a look at them.

The government should be funded all at once, not in bits and pieces, Reid said. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto piecemeal actions.

The effort to pick and choose which services to fund during the shutdown got Reid in hot water on Wednesday.

Asked by CNN why the Senate wouldn't approve a bill to open the National Institutes of Health — which is forced to turn away cancer patients for clinical trials during the shutdown — even if just one child is helped, Reid replied, "Why would we want to do that?"

His remark ignited outrage. According to Fox News, the National Republican Senatorial Committee asked, "How out of touch and heartless can Senate Democrats be?"

Reid claims his remark was taken out of context and was meant to reiterate the fact that piecemeal funding isn't the way to go.

It's not the first time Reid has created a stir. He recently referred to the tea party as "anarchists." Rather than backpedal, Reid stood firm.

"Why in the world wouldn't I use the term anarchy? That's what they are. They're anarchists," he said.

"There's no better description I can make," he said. "They're not blowing up buildings and they're not killing people. But they're throwing much monkey wrenches in the wheels of government."

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Headline
House Speaker John Boehner is worrying more about his job than about the American people as the federal government remains shuttered, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. "The speaker has to be more concerned about his country than he is about his job," Reid said on CNN.
Reid,Boehner,shutdown,job
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2013-04-04
Friday, 04 October 2013 10:04 AM
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