Much ado about golf: Did Boehner putt while government ground to a halt?

Has there ever been a time in America where one politician or another hasn’t been accused of golfing too much? William Howard Taft, perhaps? No, by golly. Look at him go! OK, James Madison. Because tee times are hard to get when the British are burning the crops. But in modern times, politicians are not allowed to take up the sticks, lest important government business be left unattended. Such is the controversy at this hour, as Democrats are criticizing House Speaker John Boehner for going on a Florida golf junket while, back in Congress, the government is in danger of shutting down. (Question: How will we be able to tell?).

Boehner was on a fundraising trip to Florida during this week’s congressional recess, and on Wednesday reportedly hit the links at “an undisclosed course in Sarasota.” This prompted a bit of snark from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) Twitter handlers, who asked the Speaker for his score.

The Republican National Committee quickly noted that President Barack Obama was set to go to Florida in early March for a fundraiser with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. That’s a valid point, but as a Senate Democratic Leadership aide pointed out, in the run up to the last government shutdown in 1995, Boehner criticized then-President Bill Clinton for playing a round while Congress continued its work.

“Now is the time, not to play golf as the president did yesterday, now is the time to act. The president has talked about balancing the budget,” Boehner said at the time. “But so far, the president has offered no leadership and the president has offered no plan.”

Golf was also a key issue in Boehner’s 2010 congressional race against Democrat Justin Coussoule, who produced this infamous ad to highlight Boehner’s extravagant golf tastes.

You’d think with all the grief they get for it, these guys would put away the golf bags while they’re in office and take up hiking. But there must be something about repeatedly whacking a small, defenseless object with a club — and occasionally hitting trees — that is too much for a politician to pass up.

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Senate Dems ding Boehner for golfing amidst shutdown negotiations [Huffington Post]