Reid to CNN: Boehner's 'job is not as important as our country' Harry Reid: Tea party members are anarchists 10/3/2013 After a tense exchange Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sits down with CNN's Dana Bash today for an interview. Washington (CNN) -- In an interview with CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused House Speaker John Boehner of being more worried about his job than the country amid a government shutdown. The Nevada Democrat also talked for the first time Thursday about Boehner reneging on an agreement between the two over a "clean" spending bill, and admitted he directed his chief of staff to leak embarrassing e-mails that they say indicate Boehner changed his position on Obamacare subsidies for Congress. In the interview, Reid criticized Boehner for bowing to a conservative faction of his caucus that insists on attaching anti-Obamacare provisions to a temporary spending bill needed to fund the government. "His job is not as important as our country," Reid said. "I say to my friend John Boehner--and I do like him, I've said that lots of times--John, if you want to really have history books account who you really are, do this," he said, urging Boehner to take up the clean bill. "He has to have some courage," he added. "That was really hard," Reid said, referring his decision to drop $70 billion. "My caucus really didn't like that. We took a real hit." Asked if Boehner at the time promised to deliver a clean continuing resolution, Reid said: "That's why we did it. That's why we agreed to that lower number. So that's one of the largest compromises since I've been in Congress." Reid, who's been known to use explosive terms to describe the tea party, defended his choice of words, especially when he calls them "anarchists." "Why in the world wouldn't I use the term anarchy? That's what they are, they're anarchists," he said. "They don't believe in government at any level. That's why we have members of Congress over there today and yesterday saying finally, we're able to close the government." He conceded that calling them "the weird caucus," as he's previously done, was "probably a little over the hill," but said he won't give up on referring to them as anarchists. "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." On Wednesday, Bash asked Reid at a press conference why he would refuse to pass a bill to fund the NIH's clinical trials, which have stopped amid the shutdown. He reiterated his stance against funding the government piece by piece. "Why would we want to do that? I have 1,100 people at Nellis Air Force base that are sitting at home. They have a few problems of their own," he said. "To have someone of your intelligence to suggest such a thing means you're as irresponsible and reckless." Republicans quickly seized on his answer, using it to paint the Democrat as uncaring and insensitive. While Reid admitted he was not articulate in his answer, he said the attacks that followed were "mean-spirited." "I understand babies who are sick. I've got a lot of children, lots of grandchildren. I really worry about kids, probably more than others because those little bodies can't take the assaults that we as older people can take," he said. Reid also commented on why his staff leaked a series of e-mails between his office and Boehner's, which, according to Reid's office, show Boehner worked privately to preserve health insurance subsidies for lawmakers and congressional employees before publicly moving to strip them as part of the standoff over government funding. A spokesman for Boehner denied Tuesday the speaker was working with the Democrats to find a legislative fix for the subsidies, outside of repealing Obamacare in its entirety and keeping congressional employees on their existing health plans. "The speaker's position is clear: He voted against Obamacare, and he wants to repeal Obamacare. If the Senate Democrats and the White House wanted to make a 'fix' to the law, it would be their fix. The speaker's 'fix' is repeal," said spokesman Michael Steel. "This is just a desperate act by Harry Reid's staff to protect their own subsidy." news,news intro,news today,breaking news,flash news,daily news,today,news channel,the latest news today,the latest news,in the world,live news,news 2013 this week,news 2013,news 2013 today,world news,world news today,2013,CNN (Organization),Dana Bash (NNDB Person),Interview (Ontology Class),Harry Reid (Lawyer),Lawyer (Occupation),John Boehner (U.S. Congressperson),Harry Reid,Dana Bash,Country

• published: 10 Oct 2013
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