Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Published Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 | 9:51 a.m.
Updated Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 | 11:16 a.m.
WASHINGTON — The House and Senate ushered in a new Congress Thursday, re-electing embattled Republican John Boehner speaker and hailing one of its own senators who returned a year after being felled by a stroke. The 113th Congress convened at 12 noon EST, the constitutionally mandated time, with pomp, pageantry and politics, on both sides of the Capitol. Boehner, bruised after weeks with his fractious caucus and negotiations with the White House on the fiscal cliff, won a second, two-year term as leader with 220 votes. Despite grumbling in the GOP ranks, just 10 Republicans voted for someone other than ...
"We can only hope for more help," said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who was re-elected in November. "Any time you have new members arriving you have that expectation of bringing fresh ideas and kind of a vitality that is needed. We hope that they're coming eager to work hard and make some difficult decisions and put the country first and not be bogged down ideologically."
Amen!
Re-electing Boehner, a foul-mouthed, disturbed and insecure guy as Speaker is the best thing Democrats could have hoped for.