"Hillary Clinton’s close confidant called John Boehner an “alcoholic,” “lazy” and a weak leader in a scathing email sent the night of the 2010 midterm election, when a Tea Party wave swept House Republicans into power.

“He is louche, alcoholic, lazy, and without any commitment to any principle,” Sidney Blumenthal wrote to Clinton, then the secretary of State, in a lengthy “post-midterms” memo.

Blumenthal went on to say that Boehner, who became Speaker shortly after the election, had tried to “buy” some potential GOP opponents in his conference with campaign contributions and plum committee assignments. Blumenthal also said Boehner had a weak grip on his conference and is “despised” by younger, more conservative members.

“His hold is insecure. He is not [Newt] Gingrich, the natural leader of a ‘revolution,’ riding the crest into power. He is careworn and threadbare, banal and hollow, holding nobody's enduring loyalty,” Blumenthal wrote in the Nov. 2, 2010, email. “Boehner is beholden and somewhat scared of his base. He twitches when they make gestures that might undermine his position. His impulse is to hand out money. …

“But Boehner is neither feared nor loved. He's a would-be [Tom] DeLay without the whip. He's the one at the end of the lash.”

“Thx, as always, for your insights,” Clinton wrote back, though she didn’t reference any specific remarks about the future Speaker.

Blumenthal’s memo was among 7,000 pages of emails between Clinton and her top aides that the State Department released on Monday night. About 125 pages had been redacted because they contained classified information, and in some of the emails, Blumenthal’s unflattering observations about Boehner were redacted."

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/252390...oehner-in-email