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Boehner on debt talks: ‘I gave it my all’

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Seeking to blunt White House efforts to shift blame for a default crisis on Republicans, House Speaker John A. Boehner said that President Obama has failed to lead on cutting government spending and that his party will press ahead with its own plan to raise the debt ceiling.

In a televised response to the president’s address, Boehner said the GOP-controlled House has already moved through legislation to address the nation’s deficit challenge, most recently the so-called “cut, cap and balance” plan.

The Ohio Republican also said he “made a sincere effort” to work with Obama to reach an agreement that could pass both chambers of Congress.

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“I gave it my all,” he said.

But Obama insisted on a “blank check” for more spending, Boehner contended, saying that Obama’s call for a “balanced approach” was just Washington speak that means “we spend more, you pay more.”

“You see, there is no stalemate in Congress,” Boehner said. “The House has passed a bill to raise the debt limit with bipartisan support. And this week, while the Senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and Washington gimmicks, we will pass another bill – one that was developed with the support of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. Senate.”

In deciding to respond to Obama’s address, Boehner seized a rare opportunity for a congressional leader to present his party’s views to a national audience in prime time.

Though he’s held the third-highest post in the federal government for nearly eight months, his remarks included some biographical flourishes.

He also incorporated some rhetoric of the “tea party” movement that helped put him into the speakership.

“I’ve always believed, the bigger government, the smaller the people,” he said. “There is no symptom of big government more menacing than our debt. Break its grip, and we begin to liberate our economy and our future.”

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The political clash in prime time follows weeks of what seemed to be cordial dealings between the two party leaders. The relationship most clearly soured on Friday, when the president came to the press briefing room “puzzled” at Boehner’s unwillingness to accept a deal. Boehner countered that dealing with the White House was like “dealing with Jell-O.”

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