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Boehner describes a GOP 'utopia' in speech to conservatives
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02/09/12 04:04 PM ET
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said living in the United States would be like living in “utopia” if Republican policies were implemented.
He then continued as if all of the GOP’s policies had been implemented.
“The deficit is dropping and our entitlement programs are being saved because Washington now operates on Paul Ryan’s budget,” Boehner said. “Gas prices are falling as the Keystone pipeline is being built … ObamaCare has been repealed and replaced with market-based reforms that protect the greatest healthcare system in the world. And there are no czars or boards of bureaucrats telling employers where they can and can’t create jobs.
“Talk about a shining city on a hill,” he concluded, in reference to the famous Ronald Reagan line. “Sounds like utopia, doesn’t it?”
It was a drastically different tone from that struck by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who spoke just prior to Boehner, and spent the entirety of his speech lambasting the president.
It was also a more personal speech, at times heavy on platitudes about working hard and making sacrifices, as Boehner tried to tie in examples from his personal life to make the argument about why his vision for American is attainable.
He brought up his high school football coach and the principles he says he learned running a small business.
And in what could be viewed as a pitch to rally skeptical Tea Party representatives to back him, Boehner talked about the need for congressional Republicans to unite in order to implement that vision.
Some have speculated that Boehner’s grasp on the Speakership is tenuous, as evidenced by some members of his caucus revolting just before Christmas against a deal to extend the payroll tax cut.
Even when Boehner did attack the president, he tied it back to a need for a united Republican front.
"It's often said that the ObamaCare vote — together with the disgrace of the Obama stimulus — gave birth to a new majority in the House,” he said. “It’s safe to say the united front we put up against ObamaCare, the stimulus and the national energy tax were all huge factors in that.”
Boehner also hit the president over the administration’s policy that would require employer healthcare plans to cover birth control, which many on the right have called a “war on religious liberty.”
"They rammed ObamaCare through the House, using every trick in the book to stifle dissent and circumvent the will of the American people,” Boehner said. "We are allowing a wide-open process to repeal it. And by the way, this is exactly how the House will deal with the Obama administration’s recent attack on religious freedom in our country.”
“Because what’s ultimately at stake is a First Amendment right and fundamental American value that has stood for two centuries. We’re going to handle this openly and deliberately, so every lawmaker can have their say and the voice of the people can be heard.”
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