• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Susan Collins’ Maine concession could leave New England without a Republican in Congress for the first time since the 1850s

2

Billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy’s millions and Greg Abbott’s $106 million war chest couldn’t stop Democrats from flipping Texas and Ohio

3

OpenAI’s hiring of former Army Secretary just 2 months after Pentagon resignation is part of a 'trend' of it pivoting resources to defense projects

1

Susan Collins’ Maine concession could leave New England without a Republican in Congress for the first time since the 1850s

2

Billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy’s millions and Greg Abbott’s $106 million war chest couldn’t stop Democrats from flipping Texas and Ohio

3

OpenAI’s hiring of former Army Secretary just 2 months after Pentagon resignation is part of a 'trend' of it pivoting resources to defense projects

John Boehner’s bad biz plan

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 29, 2012, 12:28 AM ET
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

FORTUNE — House Speaker John Boehner addressed the party faithful here in Tampa this evening, telling a story about his old family business that was supposed to serve as a metaphor for President Obama.

Here was the gist:

“My dad and my uncles owned a bar outside of Cincinnati. I worked there growing up, mopping floors, waiting tables. Believe me when I say I learned how to deal with every character who walked in the door. So let’s say right now, a guy walked into our bar and said, ‘the private sector is doing fine.’ Well, do you know what we’d do? That’s right: we’d throw him out. … If a guy walked into our bar … and said, ‘if you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that,’ do you know what we’d do? Throw him out.”

Really Mr. Speaker? You’d throw out paying customers because you didn’t agree with their economic assessments? That may be good politics (literally starve the opposition), but it doesn’t strike me as terribly good business.

I once worked at a bar, and am pretty sure that I would have been fired for doing such a thing. And then the bar owner probably would have bought the guy one on the house.

Hopefully latter speakers, including Mitt Romney, are able to articulate a pro-business agenda that doesn’t involve denying service to customers…

Sign up for Dan’s daily email newsletter on deals and deal-makers: GetTermSheet.com

About the Author
By Dan Primack
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Recommended For You

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.