Speaker of the House John Boehner asked the attendees of CPAC to join him and congressional Republicans in a “pursuit of a better America.” In a relatively short speech which at times sounded like an autobiographical history lesson, Boehner detailed previous trials and triumphs of Republicans in Congress in years past.
Boehner opened by painting a picture of what he called a “utopia.” It was a world in which the Keystone XL pipeline had been approved and was being constructed, preparations to drill for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge were being made, and the prohibition of taxpayer-funded abortions had been codified into law.
In a recent, rare appearance on the House floor, Boehner spoke out against Obama administration mandates for religious organizations to provide birth control against church doctrine. In that speech, Boehner said that “This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country cannot stand, and will not stand.” Boehner reiterated that language in his speech today, echoing the pledge made earlier by his Senate Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell that Congress would fight the policy.
Boehner continued his recent trend of debunking the Democrat-propagated phrase of the “Republican do-nothing Congress.” He highlighted a transportation bill the House will be voting on soon which includes zero earmarks, and he pointed to the recent vote to repeal the CLASS Act as another positive step. However, he also noted that “real reform doesn’t happen all at once; it’s one step at a time.”
The end of Boehner’s speech was designed to rally the attendees to action; however, the speech left unclear what exactly that action was. Overall, the speech lacked the specifics that Boehner has done a better job articulating recently in interviews and other public appearances. Other than mentioning energy potential and a couple of recent votes, there was relatively little substance. Interestingly, Boehner also refrained from directly attacking the Obama administration to the level that McConnell did earlier.
