{"id":880,"date":"2009-04-02T11:36:25","date_gmt":"2009-04-02T18:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/truthsquad\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T09:48:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T14:48:41","slug":"boehner-knows-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Boehner Knows Best"},"content":{"rendered":"

Claim:<\/h3>\n

“Families and small businesses are struggling to get by, but the Democrats’ budget would raise taxes on every American who drives a car, flips on a light switch, or buys a product manufactured in the United States. In fact it would cost every family as much as $3,100 a year in additional energy costs through their ‘cap-and-trade’ energy tax, and will drive millions of good-paying American jobs overseas.”<\/p>\n

— House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), from his “Leader Alert,” April 2, 2009.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Truth:<\/h3>\n

Groundhog day is February 2nd, not April 2nd, and April Fool’s was yesterday. So, we’re having a hard time understanding why the House Minority Leader would reuse the bogus $3,100 per household figure in describing the costs of a carbon cap.<\/p>\n

He must not read the Truth Squad. Nor does it appear he reads his mail.<\/p>\n

As we posted yesterday<\/a> in a response to the National Republican Campaign Committee’s misuse of this same number — what PolitiFact called a “Pants on Fire”<\/a> lie — John Reilly, the author the MIT study on which Rep. Boehner bases the $3,100 number, wrote him a letter yesterday [pdf]<\/a> urging Republicans to stop misusing that figure.<\/p>\n

Reilly wrote, “The [NRCC] press release claims our report estimates an average cost per family of a carbon cap and trade program that would meet targets now being discussed in Congress to be over $3,000, but that is nearly 10 times the correct estimate which is approximately $340. Since the issue of legislation to control greenhouse gases is now under consideration, I wanted to take an opportunity to clear up any misunderstanding created by this press release and to avoid further confusion.”<\/p>\n

So, that’s $340, not $3100. Yet, Boehner seems to think he knows more about the MIT study than the actual author of the MIT study.<\/p>\n

DeSmogBlog calls it a lie<\/a> while Grist says he’s just off by 98%<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We prefer to think Boehner just got his months confused and believes today actually is Groundhog Day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: “Families and small businesses are struggling to get by, but the Democrats’ budget would raise taxes on every American who drives a car, flips on a light switch, or buys a product manufactured in the United States. In fact it would cost every family as much as $3,100 a year in additional energy costs …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"coauthors":[108146],"class_list":["post-880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBoehner Knows Best - Climate 411<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boehner Knows Best - Climate 411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Claim: “Families and small businesses are struggling to get by, but the Democrats’ budget would raise taxes on every American who drives a car, flips on a light switch, or buys a product manufactured in the United States. In fact it would cost every family as much as $3,100 a year in additional energy costs ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Climate 411\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-04-02T18:36:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-18T14:48:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sam Parry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sam Parry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sam Parry\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdddb4e3b225f4effd9facd35fcf271e\"},\"headline\":\"Boehner Knows Best\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-04-02T18:36:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T14:48:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":330,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boehner Knows Best - Climate 411\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-04-02T18:36:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T14:48:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdddb4e3b225f4effd9facd35fcf271e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/2009\\\/04\\\/02\\\/boehner-knows-best\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Boehner Knows Best\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/\",\"name\":\"Climate 411\",\"description\":\"Blogging the science and policy of global warming\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdddb4e3b225f4effd9facd35fcf271e\",\"name\":\"Sam Parry\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/236be5ed933892fec0eb7f75b6de88a6e16743ab51bb291d1b8e750a1ede59cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g9cc8e8a019751a7c1288e69218e3d028\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/236be5ed933892fec0eb7f75b6de88a6e16743ab51bb291d1b8e750a1ede59cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/236be5ed933892fec0eb7f75b6de88a6e16743ab51bb291d1b8e750a1ede59cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sam Parry\"},\"description\":\"Director of Online Membership and Activism for Environmental Defense Fund. I have been with EDF since January 2003.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.edf.org\\\/climate411\\\/author\\\/sparry\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Boehner Knows Best - Climate 411","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Boehner Knows Best - Climate 411","og_description":"Claim: “Families and small businesses are struggling to get by, but the Democrats’ budget would raise taxes on every American who drives a car, flips on a light switch, or buys a product manufactured in the United States. In fact it would cost every family as much as $3,100 a year in additional energy costs ...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/","og_site_name":"Climate 411","article_published_time":"2009-04-02T18:36:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-18T14:48:41+00:00","author":"Sam Parry","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sam Parry","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/"},"author":{"name":"Sam Parry","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#\/schema\/person\/cdddb4e3b225f4effd9facd35fcf271e"},"headline":"Boehner Knows Best","datePublished":"2009-04-02T18:36:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T14:48:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/"},"wordCount":330,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/","name":"Boehner Knows Best - Climate 411","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-04-02T18:36:25+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T14:48:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#\/schema\/person\/cdddb4e3b225f4effd9facd35fcf271e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2009\/04\/02\/boehner-knows-best\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Boehner Knows Best"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/","name":"Climate 411","description":"Blogging the science and policy of global warming","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/#\/schema\/person\/cdddb4e3b225f4effd9facd35fcf271e","name":"Sam Parry","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/236be5ed933892fec0eb7f75b6de88a6e16743ab51bb291d1b8e750a1ede59cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g9cc8e8a019751a7c1288e69218e3d028","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/236be5ed933892fec0eb7f75b6de88a6e16743ab51bb291d1b8e750a1ede59cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/236be5ed933892fec0eb7f75b6de88a6e16743ab51bb291d1b8e750a1ede59cd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Parry"},"description":"Director of Online Membership and Activism for Environmental Defense Fund. I have been with EDF since January 2003.","url":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/author\/sparry\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24934,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880\/revisions\/24934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}