Boehner in Boise, predicts ‘whale of a fight’ over debt limit in the fall

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner raised more than $95,000 for 2 ^nd District Congressman Mike Simpson in Boise yesterday, reports Dan Popkey of the Idaho Statesman , speaking at a $50 a plate luncheon at the Boise Centre that drew 430 and a roundtable for 36 high-dollar contributors.  The speaker, a close ally and friend of Simpson, was on the 22 ^nd day of a 35-day cross-country bus tour supporting GOP House members seeking re-election. Simpson faces a challenge from Idaho Falls attorney Bryan Smith as he seeks a ninth term. Boehner said, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that he is re-elected.”

In his address to the luncheon crowd, Boehner predicted “a whale of a fight” over the debt limit in the fall, Popkey reported. “I’ve made it clear that we’re not going to increase the debt limit without cuts and reforms that are greater than the increase in the debt limit,” he said. “The president doesn’t think this is fair, thinks I’m being difficult to deal with. But I’ll say this: It may be unfair but what I’m trying to do here is to leverage the political process to produce more change than what it would produce if left to its own devices. We’re going to have a whale of a fight.”

Popkey reports that 1 ^st District GOP Congressman Raul Labrador, who has said he’s remaining neutral in the primary race, attended the luncheon; read Popkey’s full report here .