Boehner Golfing, McCain Absent During GOP Revolt

During the ongoing saga of the House's "Phantom Session," two items have caught Capitol Briefing's eye:

Item 1: On Monday, John McCain joined the party by declaring "Congress should come back into session," for an energy vote. "I am willing to come back off the campaign trail," he said.

Item 2: On Tuesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) issued a release commending McCain for his call, trashing Barack Obama and adding: "While Democrats left town for a month-long break, House Republicans have stayed behind and continued to demand a vote on the American Energy Act, which will help lower energy prices and liberate America from its dependence on foreign oil."

Boehner was around for the start of the fake House session Friday but then left town and hasn't been back since. Even former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) showed up today to rally with his GOP comrades, but the current party leader was nowhere to be seen.

What's Boehner been up to? His office says he's been in Ohio raising money for his political action committee, the Freedom Project, and that he should be back in D.C. later this week. He's also doing 18 events in August for GOP candidates across the country.

But Boehner also has found time to squeeze in a couple rounds of golf. Scores reported by Boehner himself to a United States Golf Association site show that he posted an 85 sometime this week at his home course, Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester, Ohio. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said he wasn't exactly sure of the details of Boehner's 18 holes, but that he felt confident that "if he did play at home, it was over the weekend."

And The Sleuth passes along a tip that Boehner was spotted yesterday at the lovely Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Muirfield was designed by Jack Nicklaus and is the home of the Golden Bear's annual memorial tournament. Here's a nice shot of Boehner and Nicklaus together at the 2005 tournament.

It turns out Boehner was at Muirfield for his annual Freedom Project fundraiser/golf tournament, and Steel said "cancelling it would have cost tens of thousands of dollars for Republican candidates across the country." Boehner played at the tournament too -- while his House GOP compatriots were holding the fort on the House floor -- though Steel said Boehner has generally cut down on golf this year because of back trouble. The stats bear that out, as Boehner's scores, assuming he reports them all, show that he's only played a few times this year.

As for McCain, it would be a big deal indeed if Congress came back into session for an energy vote and the Arizonan actually showed up. This Friday will mark the four-month anniversary of the last time McCain actually cast a vote in the Senate. Since April 8, he's missed 103 consecutive floor votes, including several on energy-related issues. That's a remarkable streak, even for a presidential candidate. McCain is like the anti-Cal Ripken.