Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, skewered conservative groups and lawmakers, saying they are following “false prophets” whose messages “whip people into a frenzy.”
In his first post-resignation interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday, Boehner said, “The Bible says, beware of false prophets. And there are people out there spreading … noise about how much can get done.”
Boehner blasted conservatives for not accepting incremental successes, saying that they’d voted against some of his major accomplishments like reducing the deficit, and the first major entitlement reform in decades, because the measures weren’t “good enough.”
“Really? This is the part I really don’t understand,” he said, appearing visibly frustrated.
“We’ve got groups here in town, members of the House and Senate … who whip people into a frenzy believing they can accomplish things they know — they know — are never going to happen,” he added with emphasis.
Conservative groups like Heritage Action, the Family Research Council, and Citizens United celebrated Boehner’s resignation.
Asked if critics were unrealistic, Boehner temporarily lost his cool and exclaimed, “Absolutely they’re unrealistic!”
“Our founders didn’t want some parliamentary system where if you won the majority you got to do whatever you wanted,” he added. “They wanted this long, slow process. And so change comes slowly. And obviously too slowly for some.”
The Ohio Republican declared with confidence there will not be a government shutdown this week. Asked if it would take Democratic votes to keep the government funded, Boehner said he’s “sure it will.”
“I expect my Democratic colleagues want to keep the government open as much as I do,” he added.
On the issue of whether he had enough votes to retain his speakership, Boehner said that “was never an issue,” and that he would probably have received 400 votes.
“But why would I make my members, Republican members, walk the plank?” asked Boehner. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s said Sunday that Boehner resigned in order to spare his allies primary battles at home. Boehner said his retirement would spare Republicans who voted for him from getting “criticized at home, by some who think we ought to be more aggressive.”
Boehner said he will use his remaining time the same way he would have before he announced his resignation, and that the House will set up a select committee to investigate the Planned Parenthood videos.
“I’m going to make the same decisions the same way I have the last four and a half years to make sure that we’re passing conservative legislation, that is good for the country,” he said.
Boehner said he thought he might receive “a little more cooperation” during his last weeks, and that he wants “to get as much as finished as possible.”
“I don’t want to leave my successor a dirty barn. I want to clean the barn up a little bit before the next person gets there,” Boehner said.
He recalled his early years in the House as “a rebel” who shook up the way the floor of the House was run. He described his many years in Congress working on creating the Republican majority, and the contract with America, as “a great run.”
Describing one career highlight, the former altar boy teared up as he told the story of how Pope Francis touched him on the arm and asked for his prayers on Thursday.
