John Boehner channels bar bouncer at RNC, says ‘throw’ Obama out

TAMPA, Fla. – House Speaker John A. Boehner opened prime time at the Republican National Convention with a rousing call to toss President Obama from office.

Boehner told the story of having worked in his family’s bar when he was growing up in Cincinnati, where he learned to deal with “every character who walked in the door.”

“So let’s say right now, a guy walked into our bar and said, ‘The private sector is doing fine,’ ” said Boehner, the convention chairman, as Tuesday’s main session got underway.

“Well, do you know what we’d do? That’s right: We’d throw him out.”

Boehner has sought to return the political debate to a focus on jobs and the economy, top issues for voters, and those where GOP strategists believe the party has the advantage over the White House.

“Where are the jobs?” Boehner asked in what has become one of his trademark jabs.

The speaker recast some of Obama’s most recent verbal missteps as setups for his punchline.

“If a guy walked into our bar … and said, ‘If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that,’ do you know what we’d do? Throw him out,” Boehner thundered as the convention hall was refilling after delegates had formally made Mitt Romney the party’s nominee.

Boehner also gave a shout-out to Romney’s vice presidential pick, fellow Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin.

But in a nod to the tough race ahead, Boehner pressed delegates and attendees to keep the momentum up through election day.

Ensuring a President Romney in the White House, Boehner said – noting that he liked the sound of that title – would be possible “only if all of us are all in, all of the time.”

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com
@lisamascaroindc