"Former US House speaker John Boehner, who stepped down last year, let fly with a stunning critique of fellow Republican and 2016 presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, labelling him the devil incarnate.
"Lucifer in the flesh" is how the ever-blunt Republican bigwig described Senator Cruz of Texas, who is struggling to block billionaire Donald Trump's march to the Republican presidential nomination, according to the Stanford Daily newspaper.
"I have Democrat friends and Republican friends," Boehner said. "I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life."
Boehner's remarks were made at a public talk late on Wednesday at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
During his tenure as the top lawmaker in Congress, Boehner rarely held back when frustrated or dissatisfied - especially with the gridlock in Washington.
But even by his standards, the Ohioan's unvarnished appraisal of a fellow Republican lawmaker who is running for nation's highest office was startling.
Goofballs
Cruz prides himself on standing up for his beliefs, but he also is widely seen as one of the more intransigent members of Congress.
Critics on both sides of the aisle blamed him for triggering a 16-day federal government shut-down in late 2013.
Boehner often expressed exasperation with those he viewed as blocking the work of Congress, and that temperament was on display at Stanford as he called members of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus "goofballs."
He also revealed he is friends and "texting buddies" with Trump and has played golf with the brash billionaire for years.
John Kasich, the Ohio governor who is trailing in the Republican nomination race, "requires more effort on my behalf than all my other friends," Boehner said. "But he's still my friend, and I love him."
The biggest establishment figure in the Republican Party was Boehmer. He was booted out as house Speaker because he was constantly collaborating with Obama and his Democratic Friends in ensuring that the Obama Administration could have it their way. He was vigorously opposed by Cruz and that is the reason for the attack on Cruz and the conservative "goofballs".
He now supports the Tr umpet democratic plant as presidential candidate - they have similar friends - Boehmer and the Obama clique and the Tr umpet and the Clinton clique. And then we have a person on this site screaming out against the Rp and supporting a person who is an unprincipled plant as the RP candidate.
Boehmer was removed because he was selling out the RP to the Obamas and Clintons. Cruz and other real Republicans opposed him in making deals with Obama which was in contrast to what the RP candidates told the electorate in the mid-term elections. There is a great similarity in what the Tr umpet tells the public now and what he will do as President if he ever gets there - he will do a Boehmer on them. However, the Trumpet is clever - he stole the ideas of the RP candidates in the mid-term elections and as result he fooled the people about hat his real intentions are.
Birds of a feather flock together.