The Speaker's Rhetoric Can Only Go So Far

How did Speaker Boehner's ridiculous claim about enacting immigration reform next year play in the media?  Not good at all.  See for yourself:

From The Wire:

Immigration reform in 2015? Speaker John Boehner says it could happen.

Of course, Boehner also said it could happen in 2013, and in 2014, and more than anyone else, he was responsible for killing the chance of Congress passing legislation both times.

From The New Republic:

If those words sound familiar, they should. Boehner has long played footsie with Democrats over passing a comprehensive bill. Last November, Boehner told reporters that immigration reform "absolutely" wasn't dead. But in February, after the right wing freaked out over "immigration principles" that the House GOP leadership released, Boehner pulled back and announced that no reform was possible, because Obama was untrustworthy. Just like that, immigration reform was dead.

From MSNBC:

If the embattled Speaker hoped everyone involved in the debate would laugh uproariously at him, his comments were a striking success. It was Boehner and his House Republican caucus, after all, who killed immigration reform without a coherent explanation. Why in the world would anyone expect conditions to be different in 2015? The Speaker didn't say.

From Talking Points Memo:

House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that immigration reform might happen in 2015 — if only President Barack Obama would secure the border.

Boehner's subliminal message to Obama is this: abandon your executive action, enforce the laws and we'll play ball on reform next year.

From The New Republic:

A guy named George Bush says climate change is a threat. A guy named John Boehner says immigration reform can happen next year. Which one do you believe?

From The Huffington Post:

It's a promise Boehner has made before, only to push back the timeline again and again. The speaker said after the 2012 election that he would like to tackle immigration reform, then said the House would not take up the Senate's comprehensive bill after it was passed in June 2013.