"We'll Get Rid of You": Donohue's Mob Boss Language Scares the Frosh

This week, during a speech to the Atlanta Rotary Club, U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue dug himself into a rhetorical hole when he warned freshmen Republican Congressmen who opposed raising the debt ceiling, “We’ll get rid of you.” Not surprisingly, Members of Congress weren't thrilled. According to Politico, Kansas freshman GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp said, “This is typical Washington, D.C., insider politics. The idea that head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would rather pick fight with the 87 freshmen than with Democrats, that’s pretty disappointing.”  And as Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent put it, “He seems to be joking, but man, that is one telling joke.”

And how. Donohue's comment was just the latest in a string of "Godfather"-esque messages, telling not just of his mob boss leadership style, but also of the real agenda he has set for the U.S. Chamber: corporate intimidation and domination.

Here's our Top 5 favorite "Tom Donohue: Mob Boss" quotes.

• “We plan to build a grass-roots business organization so strong that when it bites you in the butt, you bleed.” – Tom Donohue, President, U.S. Chamber [LA Times, 1/8/08]

• “We will use every tool at our disposal to challenge those who try to silence our voice.” – Tom Donohue, President, U.S. Chamber [Washington Post, 1/11/11]

• “…You think we are going to blink because a couple of people are out shooting at us? Tell 'em to put their damn helmets on.” – Tom Donohue, President, U.S. Chamber [Wall Street Journal, 10/23/09]

• “This is a great place. If you walk on our lawn, we're going to turn on the sprinklers.” – Tom Donohue, President, U.S. Chamber [Wall Street Journal, 10/23/09]

• “Stop Whining,” U.S. Chamber President Tom Donohue told the unemployed in reference to jobs lost due to outsourcing. [AP, 7/5/04]  

And in a bonus quote that's telling of the respect the Chamber president holds for the current Speaker of the House, Donohue said that John Boehner, whom the Chamber had exclusively interviewed for its Free Enterprise Magazine in January, was “growing into his shorts…. He’s put on his big boy pants.” 

It sure makes for colorful quotes, but as the latest episode at the Rotary Club shows, Donohue's mob boss style isn't winning him many friends.