POLITICO Playbook: Boehner unloads

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DRIVING THE DAY

The absolute must-read of the day is POLITICO Mag’s 2,300-word exclusive excerpt of JOHN BOEHNER’S scorching new book, “ON THE HOUSE,” which will be out April 13 from St. Martin’s Press.

We knew this was going to be juicy ever since we saw the cover last month. It features the former speaker of the House looking very DON DRAPER as he relaxes with a suburban pour of red wine and a cigarette. Boehner, now a tobacco and marijuana lobbyist, appears like a guy beckoning the reader to a back room at the Jefferson Hotel where he’s finally going to tell you what he really thinks.

He doesn’t disappoint.

You’ll want to read the entire excerpt, which is a rollicking romp through the GOP in the years just before DONALD TRUMP. It was, in Boehner’s telling, the period in which fringe activists, right-wing media personalities and conspiracy theorists gradually took over the party and overthrew Boehner’s merlot-and-Camel establishment.

But to whet your appetite, here are some of our favorite parts of the piece, which is amusingly titled “Panic Rooms, Birth Certificates and the Birth of GOP Paranoia: How America’s center-right party started to lose its mind, as told by the man who tried to keep it sane.”

On the 2010 midterms: “You could be a total moron and get elected just by having an R next to your name—and that year, by the way, we did pick up a fair number in that category.”

On the BARACK OBAMA conspiracy theories: “In January 2011, as the new Republican House majority was settling in and I was getting adjusted to the Speakership, I was asked about the birth certificate business by Brian Williams of NBC News. My answer was simple: ‘The state of Hawaii has said that President Obama was born there. That’s good enough for me.’ It was a simple statement of fact. But you would have thought I’d called Ronald Reagan a communist. I got all kinds of shit for it—emails, letters, phone calls. It went on for a couple weeks. I knew we would hear from some of the crazies, but I was surprised at just how many there really were.

“All of this crap swirling around was going to make it tough for me to cut any deals with Obama as the new House Speaker. Of course, it has to be said that Obama didn’t help himself much either. He could come off as lecturing and haughty. He still wasn’t making Republican outreach a priority. But on the other hand—how do you find common cause with people who think you are a secret Kenyan Muslim traitor to America?”

On RUPERT MURDOCH: “He was a businessman, pure and simple. He cared about ratings and the bottom line. He also wanted to make sure he was ahead of any political or policy developments coming down the line. He was always asking who was up, who was down, what bills could pass and what couldn’t. If he entertained any of the kooky conspiracy theories that started to take over his network, he kept it a secret from me. But he clearly didn’t have a problem with them if they helped ratings.”

On ROGER AILES: “I once met him in New York during the Obama years to plead with him to put a leash on some of the crazies he was putting on the air. It was making my job trying to accomplish anything conservative that much harder. I didn’t expect this meeting to change anything, but I still thought it was bullshit, and I wanted Roger to know it.

“When I put it to him like that, he didn’t have much to say. But he did go on and on about the terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, which he thought was part of a grand conspiracy that led back to Hillary Clinton. Then he outlined elaborate plots by which George Soros and the Clintons and Obama (and whoever else came to mind) were trying to destroy him.

“‘They’re monitoring me,’ he assured me about the Obama White House.”

On SEAN HANNITY: “I’d known him for years, and we used to have a good relationship. But then he decided he felt like busting my ass every night on his show. So one day, in January of 2015, I finally called him and asked: ‘What the hell?’ I wanted to know why he kept bashing House Republicans when we were actually trying to stand up to Obama.

“‘Well, you guys don’t have a plan,’ he whined. “‘Look,’ I told him, ‘our plan is pretty simple: we’re just going to stand up for what we believe in as Republicans.’ I guess that wasn’t good enough for him. The conversation didn’t progress very far. At some point I called him a nut. Anyway, it’s safe to say our relationship never got any better.”

On Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas): “By 2013 the chaos caucus in the House had built up their own power base thanks to fawning right-wing media and outrage-driven fundraising cash. And now they had a new head lunatic leading the way, who wasn’t even a House member. There is nothing more dangerous than a reckless asshole who thinks he is smarter than everyone else. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Senator Ted Cruz.”

Happy Friday. What was your favorite part of the Boehner piece? Got a news tip? A document to share? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri.

DO CALL IT A COMEBACK — “‘They thank me’: Jerry Falwell Jr. says Liberty community still embraces him,” by Maggie Severns: “Throughout the Liberty community, there’s an ongoing reckoning about the direction the school should take, as well as how to address accusations from last summer that Jerry and Becki Falwell had behaved inappropriately around young people, including one former Liberty student who detailed a sexual encounter he had with Becki Falwell at the family’s farm to POLITICO.” Severns interviews Falwell for the story

WATCH: Playbook Playback, ‘Trump was right, Biden is a Trojan horse for progressives’: As infrastructure week comes to a close, TARA and EUGENE look back at the week’s top news videos, starting with an awkward encounter between TUCKER CARLSON and Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) during his first public response to allegations of sex trafficking a minor. They also discuss the likelihood of President JOE BIDEN’S infrastructure bill getting through Congress and if Trump was right about Biden being a Trojan horse for the progressive agenda.

BIDEN’S FRIDAY — The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9:30 a.m. Biden will deliver remarks on the March jobs report at 11 a.m. in the State Dining Room. At noon, the president will depart the White House en route to Camp David.

— VP KAMALA HARRIS and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF are in Los Angeles for the weekend.

— The White House Covid-19 response team and public health officials will brief at 11 a.m. Press secretary JEN PSAKI and Labor Secretary MARTY WALSH will brief at 12:30 p.m.

THE HOUSE and SENATE are not in session.

PLAYBOOK READS

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

THE AMTRAK PRESIDENT — “Infrastructure plan calls for $80 billion for rail. It could transform passenger service,” WaPo: “The American Jobs Plan announced Wednesday calls for $80 billion for rail — money that could be crucial in taking passenger service to cities such as Las Vegas and Nashville, and expand operations across large metropolitan areas such as Atlanta and Houston. … Amtrak on Wednesday unveiled a plan to provide new intercity rail service to 160 communities and expand service in corridors with heightened demand for rail transportation. The passenger railroad also unveiled a map that highlights 30 possible new routes.

“The federal funding would help Amtrak accomplish long-needed upgrades to tracks, tunnels and bridges in the Northeast, the nation’s busiest rail corridor. Amtrak has a $45.2 billion backlog of projects that it says are needed to bring its assets to a state of good repair in the region.”

CONFRONTING RACIAL INEQUITIES — “Biden Seeks to Use Infrastructure Plan to Address Racial Inequities,” NYT: “In addition to dedicated funding for neighborhoods split or splintered by past infrastructure projects, the proposal also includes money for the replacement of lead water pipes that have harmed Black children in cities like Flint, Mich.; the cleanup of environmental hazards that have plagued Hispanic neighborhoods and tribal communities; worker training that would target underserved groups; and funds for home health aides, who are largely women of color.

“More traditional efforts to close racial opportunity gaps, like universal pre-K and more affordable higher education, are coming in the next phase of Mr. Biden’s plans.”

BIDEN EXCELS AT TRUMP’S FAVORITE METRIC OF SUCCESS — “S&P 500 climbs more than 1% to close above 4,000 for the first time,” CNBC

CONGRESS

LATEST ON GAETZ-GATE — “Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women,” NYT: “The Times has reviewed receipts from Cash App, a mobile payments app, and Apple Pay that show payments from Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg to one of the women, and a payment from Mr. Greenberg to a second woman. The women told their friends that the payments were for sex with the two men, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

“In encounters during 2019 and 2020, Mr. Gaetz and Mr. Greenberg instructed the women to meet at certain times and places, often at hotels around Florida, and would tell them the amount of money they were willing to pay, according to the messages and interviews.”

CNN also reports that the feds are looking at whether he used campaign funds to pay for travel and expenses for the women.

AND THIS IS CREEPY — Also via CNN: “Gaetz allegedly showed off to other lawmakers photos and videos of nude women he said he had slept with, the sources told CNN, including while on the House floor. The sources, including two people directly shown the material, said Gaetz displayed the images of women on his phone and talked about having sex with them. One of the videos showed a naked woman with a hula hoop, according to one source.”

PANDEMIC

TOP-ED — “What if the former CDC director is right about the Wuhan labs?” by WaPo’s Josh Rogin: “Before [Robert] Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus outbreak, endorsed it, the mere discussion of the still-unproven theory that the covid-19 outbreak might have been connected to human error at a research laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan was considered taboo. The issue of the virus’s origin has been horrendously politicized, by both the right and the left. The Chinese government and U.S. scientists who are close associates of the Wuhan scientists doing bat coronavirus research have tarred anyone who uttered it as conspiracy theorists, or worse (in their eyes), as pro-Trump.

“And although it’s true the Trump administration contributed to this politicization, it’s also true that the Biden administration has confirmed some of the Trump team’s factual claims about suspicious and still-undisclosed work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which amounts to a direct challenge to the lab’s claim that it has been transparent and honest. … Redfield told CNN in an interview released last week that he believes the outbreak likely did originate from research in the Wuhan labs, based on how the virus acts. But though he is a trained virologist who saw the underlying intelligence, he was accused of spreading speculation and even fueling hate.”

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

YIKES — “Army probes missing rifle from National Guard unit deployed to the Capitol,” by Natasha Bertrand, Andrew Desiderio and Lara Seligman: “The Army has dispatched its in-house criminal investigative arm to probe the potential theft of a rifle from the D.C. National Guard while the unit was training in Virginia three weeks ago, an Army spokesperson confirmed on Thursday.

“The M4 rifle and its scope went missing around March 11, according to two people familiar with the investigation, as members of a quick reaction force that was formed to protect the U.S. Capitol were training at a weapons range at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. … A misplaced or unaccounted-for rifle is a major security risk, Guard members said, especially due to the current mission of securing the Capitol after a mob of insurrectionists breached the building on Jan. 6.”

POLITICS CORNER

2022 WATCH — “Dems pine to face Ron Johnson just one more time,” by James Arkin and Burgess Everett: “It’s not only that Democrats see Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) as finally ripe for defeat after closely aligning himself with former President Donald Trump’s penchant for incendiary rhetoric. They also want to make a point that Johnson’s confrontational style is no longer a fit in his perennial swing state.

“Officially, Senate Republicans want him to run again. But Johnson has a frigid relationship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell … McConnell is eager for Johnson to make a decision soon, according to people familiar with the matter. Republicans want clarity because they are already defending an open seat in a state Joe Biden carried in last year’s presidential race, in Pennsylvania. With the Senate equally divided at 50 seats for each party, a single race in a swing state like Wisconsin could determine the majority in 2023.”

BIG BUSINESS TAKES SIDES IN VOTING RIGHTS FIGHT — “Corporate criticism of GOP-led voting bills spreads to Texas,” AP: “American Airlines, which is based in Fort Worth, came out against restrictive voting measures that have a favorable path to reaching Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk in the coming weeks. Public opposition from the airline came after a package of sweeping elections changes cleared the GOP-controlled Senate and, notably, a day after some of Georgia’s most prominent corporate leaders came out publicly against a new election law after civil rights activists criticized their silence.

“Unlike in Georgia, the corporate criticism in Texas to the election bills comes before they have been signed into law. Corporate interests carry big clout in the Texas Capitol, but Abbott and other Republicans have given no indication of wavering in their pursuit of passing the measures before the session ends in May.”

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

U.S. INCHES BACK TOWARD IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL — “Biden admin lauds talks on readmitting US to Iran nuke deal,” AP: “The Biden administration on Thursday welcomed a European Union announcement that the participants in the Iran nuclear deal will meet this week to discuss a possible return of the United States to the 2015 accord.

“Friday’s virtual meeting of officials from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran comes as the U.S. is exploring ways to rejoin the deal that former President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. The State Department praised the meeting and said it would be watched closely by U.S. officials. … President Joe Biden has said the U.S. will return to the deal if Iran comes back into compliance with it. Thus far, Iran has refused to entertain the offer unless the U.S. rescinds sanctions that Trump imposed on it.”

MEDIAWATCH

BAIER’S BACK — “Fox News Signs Bret Baier to Long-Term Contract Extension,” The Hollywood Reporter: “The 6 p.m. Special Report anchor has signed a five-year contract extension with the cable news channel. He will also continue to serve as the channel’s chief political anchor, leading election nights and other political coverage.”

HEADING TO HULU — “‘The 1619 Project’ Docuseries to Debut on Hulu, Roger Ross Williams to Produce,” The Hollywood Reporter: “Hulu has landed the rights to the docuseries The 1619 Project, based on materials from Nikole Hannah-Jones’ acclaimed special issue of The New York Times Magazine which examines the impact of slavery on American history.

“The docuseries is the first screen project to come out of a production pact between Hannah-Jones, the Times, Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films and Lionsgate. Announced last July, the deal will see The 1619 Project developed for multiple feature films, TV series, documentaries and other cross-platform content for a global audience.”

DESSERT

LET THEM EAT (CHEESE)CAKE — “There’s a New Cheesecake Factory in DC, and the White House Press Corps Is Psyched,” Washingtonian, featuring hype from Brittany Shepherd, Liz Landers, Katie Watson and Ashley Parker (a former Cheesecake Factory employee!)

NYT’s @katierogers: “It’s not every day you can say you got pranked by the First Lady of the United States. @Emilylgoodin, pooler extraordinaire.” The full story

TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week,” guest-moderated by Lisa Desjardins: Wesley Lowery, Jonathan Martin, Anna Palmer and Ayesha Rascoe.

WEEKEND PROGRAMMING — CNN’s Jim Acosta is starting his new role as anchor of CNN Newsroom’s weekend programming this weekend. His shows will air on Saturdays from 3-6 p.m. and Sundays from 4-6 p.m. Anthony Fauci will appear as one of the show’s first guests this Saturday at 5 p.m.

SUNDAY SO FAR …

  • ABC

    “This Week”: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg … Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Panel: Chris Christie, Rahm Emanuel, Sarah Isgur and Yvette Simpson.

  • FOX

    “Fox News Sunday”: NEC Director Brian Deese … Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) … Michael Osterholm. Panel: Doug Heye, Kristin Soltis Anderson and Juan Williams. Power Player: Barry Black.

  • MSNBC

    “The Sunday Show”: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown … Benjamin Crump … Martin Luther King III … Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) … Maya MacGuineas … Andrea Jenkins … David Henderson.

  • CBS

    “Face the Nation”: CEA Chair Cecilia Rouse … Seth Berkley … Norma Pimentel … Ken Chenault … Kenneth Frazier.

  • CNN

    “Inside Politics”: Ken Frazier … Ken Chenault … Kizzmekia Corbett.

  • NBC

    “Meet The Press”: Panel: Yamiche Alcindor, María Teresa Kumar, Rich Lowry and Amy Walter.

  • Gray TV

    “Full Court Press”: Gene Smith … Tom McMillen … Karen Weaver.

PLAYBOOKERS

MEDIAWATCH — Sarah Owermohle will be the new co-author of POLITICO Pulse, in addition to covering the Biden health department. She previously reported on the FDA and wrote POLITICO’s Prescription Pulse newsletter.

TRANSITIONS — Matthew Bartlett and Scott Merrick have launched Darby Field Advisors, a public affairs firm in D.C. and New Hampshire. Bartlett previously was director of public affairs and strategic comms for the State Department’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs and is a Kelly Ayotte alum. Merrick previously was a New Hampshire senior adviser for the Biden campaign and is an Amy for America and Jeanne Shaheen alum. …

… Katie Harbath has launched Anchor Change, a civic tech strategies firm, and is also joining the Bipartisan Policy Center as a fellow and the advisory council for the Rainey Center. She previously was public policy director at Facebook. … John O’Brien will be president and CEO of the National Pharmaceutical Council. He previously was a senior advisor to the HHS secretary and deputy assistant secretary of planning and evaluation for health policy, and is an Obama CMS alum.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) (66) … Tim Pataki of CGCN Group (36) … Chad Banghart of the Committee to Defeat the President … Meridith Webster … Caitlyn Morrison of Arnold Ventures … Dentons’ Sander Lurie … Naji Filali of Percipient Strategies … David Shwiff … Julia Roig of PartnersGlobal … 270 Strategies’ Lynda Tran, a CBS News contributor … Deloitte’s Kelsey Kilgore … Laura Hylden Henry of the National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association, celebrating in New Orleans … Evan McMullin (45) … Joe Hack, COS for Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) … Commerce’s Patrick Zimet … Brian Austin … NBC’s Liz Brown-Kaiser … BBC’s Adam Fleming … Alex Rosenwald … Jennifer Morrow … former Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) (71) … former Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) (84) … Josefa Velásquez … Robby Zirkelbach … Dan Sallick of Subject Matter … Edelman’s Ryan Kuntz … Sean Long … John McCauley … WNYC’s Jim O’Grady … Google’s Nikhil Joshi … Dan Reilly … Christy Agner … Tony Lake … USTR’s Brian Janovitz … Rachel Pankuch … former acting A.G. Jeff Rosen (63) … NYT’s Dana Rubinstein and Emily Steel … Stars and Stripes’ Sarah Cammarata … POLITICO’s Danielle Muoio and Katya Moukhina … Alicia Long … Princeton’s Brent Colburn

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