Boehner says this deal takes GIANT strides in the right direction while admitting it doesn’t do everything he wants. But he doesn’t understand why conservative groups opposed the agreement before they even saw it and because they did he says they have lost credibility.

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Mark Levin said last night that Boehner’s own people were calling media people over the weekend to talk about the pending deal. So when he wonders why they criticized it before they saw the agreement, it’s because these groups already had an idea of what the deal would be.

Erick Erickson wonders if there isn’t something else going on here:

Is Boehner picking this fight with conservatives to lay battle lines for the immigration fight? — Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) December 12, 2013

That kinda makes sense, considering the reports that we’ve heard about Boehner pushing for immigration in such a way that it doesn’t hurt his members.

UPDATE: Conservative groups respond to Boehner saying they knew about the deal because Boehner’s office leaked it:

One of those conservative groups responded questioning Boehner’s credibility. “When it comes to ‘credibility,’ actions speak louder than words.” FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe said in a statement. “And right now, it looks like the Speaker is leading the charge for spending increases and recruiting Democrat votes in the House to help get it done.” Dan Holler, communications director for Heritage Action, found the speaker’s comments to be “bizarre.” “Everybody in town knew what the deal looked like,” at least in part due to leaks out of the speaker’s office, he told National Journal. “Everything we warned about…is all true.”

Just like Levin said on his show last night. Boehner’s office leaked it out and now feigns ignorance on why they opposed it before they saw it. What a freaking putz.