Speaker John Boehner: Every American is a 'special interest'

WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, dismissed claims that special interest or congressional gerrymandering undermine American democracy.

Boehner compared spending on U.S. politics to spending on antacids on the Meet the Press program on NBC News.

"We spend more money on antacids than we do on politics," Boehner told host Chuck Todd on Sunday. "We live in an imperfect democracy. But as bad as it is, let me tell you this. It's better than any other place in the world."

Political watchdog PolitiFact dug into Boehner's claim and found that it was false.

Boehner quoted a trade publication that reported a $10 billion market for antacids each year but that was for worldwide sales, not domestic. U.S. sales for tablet and liquid antacids are estimated to be about $2 billion in 2014, according to PolitiFact.

The Center for Responsive Politics said total spending on federal campaigns cost $3.7 billion in 2014, about 74 percent more than spending on antacids.

Boehner also said every American is "a special interest," dismissing the notion of congressional dysfunction in Washington caused by lobbying and special interest, such as by large corporations.

"When I get home, everybody I talk to has their own interest," Boehner told Todd. "Every American belongs to dozens of special interest groups, whether they want to or not."

Todd also confronted Boehner about his claims that Obamacare would kill jobs and less people would be insured.

"Obamacare made it harder for employers to hire people," Boehner replied. "The economy expands and as a result you're going to have more employees because businesses have to. But you can ask any employer in America and ask them if Obamacare has made it harder to hire employees because it's a fact."

He continued to say that people joining Medicaid is the reason more people have received health insurance.

Non-profit, non-partisan group Kaiser Family Foundation previously conducted a study suggesting otherwise.

"The survey finds that nearly 6 in 10 of those now covered by Exchange plans were uninsured prior to signing up," according to the foundation. "The previously uninsured are one of the groups most likely to believe they have benefited from the [Affordable Care Act], and seven in ten of them say they would not have gotten coverage without the law."