Harry Reid Lashes Out At John Boehner For ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Dithering

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), Senate Majority Leader, has taken House Speaker John Boehner to task — though not by name — as the much-hyped “fiscal cliff” rapidly approaches with the end of 2012.

In what ABC deemed a “scathing speech,” Harry Reid laid into House Republicans and presumably Boehner for deliberately delaying action on the “fiscal cliff” as the deadline approaches, accusing the House Speaker of putting off action until it was politically expedient for him — at the risk of financial cost to the American people.

The site quotes Reid’s remarks on the Senate floor, beginning:

“We are here in Washington working while the members of the House of Representatives are out watching movies and watching their kids play soccer and basketball and doing all kinds of things. They should be here … I can’t imagine their consciences.”

Indirectly railing at Boehner, Reid said:

“It’s obvious what’s going on … He’s waiting until Jan. 3 to get reelected to speaker because he has so many people over there that won’t follow what he wants. John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on a firm financial footing.”

As the “fiscal cliff” nears in less than a week, Reid adds, Boehner can act decisively despite the potential impact on his own position. The Nevada Democrat continues:

“It’s not too late for the speaker to take up the Senate-passed bill, but that time is even winding down … So I say to the speaker, take the escape hatch that we’ve left you. Put the economic fate of the nation ahead of your own fate as Speaker of the House.”

In response to Harry Reid’s attack on John Boehner, Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel said in an email that the Senate Majority Leader “should talk less and legislate more.”