Boehner becomes latest lawmaker to drop f-bomb

Speaker John Boehner may have raised more than a few eyebrows when he reportedly told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to “Go f*** yourself” amid tense "fiscal cliff" negotiations last week, but the Ohio Republican is far from the first politician to drop an f-bomb.

Another fiscal-cliff negotiator, Vice President Biden, famously uttered the expletive in delight — and in front of a national television audience.

After a speech praising President Obama for passing healthcare reform in 2010, Biden could be heard exclaiming to the commander in chief, “This is a big f***ing deal.”

Former Vice President Cheney might have paved the way for Boehner’s barb though, when he admitted to telling Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to either “f*** off” or “go f*** yourself” during a 2004 exchange on the Senate floor. Cheney said he was upset at the time that Leahy had publicly criticized him, but acted friendly when he saw the veep in person. Cheney told Fox News Channel anchor Neil Cavuto that he had no regrets about his profanity-laced language.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) might be the most famous political public figure to make frequent use of the f-word, though. Obama’s former chief of staff’s long history with cursing has been well-documented, but one of the most famous instances arguably came in 1996. While working as former President Clinton’s senior adviser, Emanuel reportedly screamed at former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, “Don’t f*** this up,” ahead of Blair’s speech in support of Clinton during the president’s impeachment trial.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) also showed a fondness for a certain four-letter word when he used it in a 2003 magazine interview during his presidential campaign. Kerry — who was tapped earlier this month by Obama to become the next secretary of State — told Rolling Stone on backing then-President George W. Bush’s resolution to go to war in Iraq, “I voted for what I thought was best for the country. Did I expect Howard Dean to go off to the left and say, ‘I’m against everything’? Sure. Did I expect George Bush to f*** it up as badly as he did? I don’t think anybody did.”

F-bombs, such as the one Boehner dropped last week, according to Politico, aren’t the only curse word of choice around the Capitol. Astute C-SPAN viewers would have caught a NSFW quip when tuning in on March 18, 2010: former Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) was caught by a microphone on the House floor telling Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) to “stick it up your a**.” The remark reportedly wasn’t included in the official Congressional Record. Skelton’s spokeswoman said at the time that her boss planned on apologizing to Akin for the insult.

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