Boehner: "It does pain me to be described as spineless or a squish"
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, defended his record as a conservative Thursday, telling reporters, "It does pain me to be described as spineless or a squish."
Boehner was re-elected as his party's leader in the House of Representatives Tuesday, overcoming a handful of challenges from far-right members of his party who said he hadn't done enough to defund the Affordable Care Act or block the president's unilateral actions on immigration during a budget deal in December. Twenty-four Republicans voted for someone other than Boehner, and one voted "present."
Reflecting on the opposition Thursday, Boehner said it was a result of the American people's frustration with the economy and Washington.
"This frustration that's out there, they need to take it out on somebody. Take it out on the president, take it out on me. It comes with the territory," he said.
But he also sought to beat back accusations that he is insufficiently conservative, noting he holds the eight-most conservative voting record in Congress.
"I tell you what pains me the most is when they describe me as the establishment," Boehner said. "I'm the most anti-establishment speaker that we've ever had. You know, who was the guy who got rid of the earmarks? Me. Who's the guy who believes in regular order? Me. Who believes in allowing more members to participate in the process from both sides of the aisle? Me. I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin and I'm going to do my best to show all of our members, Democrats and Republicans, and those members who voted against me that I'm up to the job that I was given."