January 24, 2013 07:55 AM UTC

Boehner: Obama Seeks GOP's "Annihilation"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Politico–tough to consider this a constructive attitude:

President Barack Obama is aiming to “annihilate” the GOP during the president’s second term, House Speaker John Boehner says.

“And given what we heard yesterday about the President’s vision for his second term, it’s pretty clear to me that he knows he can’t do any of that as long as the House is controlled by Republicans,” Boehner (R-Ohio) said at a gathering of the Republican-oriented Ripon Society on Tuesday, a day after President Barack Obama’s second Inaugural address. “So we’re expecting over the next 22 months to be the focus of this Administration as they attempt to annihilate the Republican Party. And let me just tell you, I do believe that is their goal — to just shove us into the dustbin of history.”

Boehner’s comments came in the wake of what critics called an unusually partisan inaugural speech from Obama, who pledged commitment to liberal priorities including climate change, protecting entitlements and gay marriage.

President Barack Obama’s second inaugural address received high marks from base Democrats, many of whom had felt frustrated by Obama’s long and usually fruitless negotiations with Speaker John Boehner and congressional Republicans–negotiations in which Obama was seen making concession after concession to Republicans, and still failing to attract their support. And it needs to be said every time–the things Obama wants enjoy popular support.

Bottom line: Boehner’s charge that Obama wants to shove the GOP “into the dustbin of history” is laden with irony after GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s promise in 2010 to render Obama a “one-term President”–his “top priority” as you recall. Arguably, Obama’s first four years in office amounted to one massive campaign by Republicans to shove Obama “into the dustbin of history.” And as opinion polling shows the public understands today, this was done without heed to the collateral damage: to the economy, or to the public’s confidence in any of our leaders.

And now that they have failed, totally failed, it’s Obama who wants to “annihilate” the Republican Party?

No, folks. If that’s what happens, history will record they did it to themselves.