Boehner: 'Not A Time For Ideological Purity'

House Republican Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) warned his rank and file against turning their backs on Treasury's $700 billion economic rescue plan in the name of conservative orthodoxy.

"This is not a time for ideological purity," Boehner said on ABC's "This Week."

Asked specifically about Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, an outspoken conservative who issued a statement Saturday night opposing Treasury's bailout proposal, Boehner said, "If this were about a company here or there failing, I wouldn't be for intervening in any way shape or form. This is about our way of life, our society, our economy. ... This isn't about Wall Street."

"This could be the most serious financial crisis that the world has ever dealt with," Boehner said, using the same grave language he has employed since a dramatic Thursday night briefing at the Capitol with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.