(Photo Credit: Michael Reynolds, EPA)
Conservative author and constitutional lawyer Mark Levin didn’t pull any punches in his opinion of House Speaker John Boehner’s announcement that he’ll be resigning his position and his seat in Congress at the end of October.
Speaking at the 2015 Values Voters Summit, Levin told a cheering audience exactly what he thought of Boehner’s early resignation:
“Well, it’s a great day. That, in part, is what it means,” Levin said bluntly.
Levin continued later in his remarks:
I love these articles that John Boehner is ‘courageous.’ Now you liberal journalists and RINO sycophants out there, you want to see courageous? You go to Arlington National Cemetery. That’s courageous.
You want to see courageous? You go to the Police Memorial down here in Washington, D.C. You want to see courageous? You go to Walter Reed [National Military Medical Center]. That’s where courageous is.
Don’t tell me some speaker of the House who’s gonna retire on a 25-year pension and then go to K Street and make a million or two bucks is courageous. One thing John Boehner is not, is courageous.
Boehner shocked Capitol Hill, the White House and much of the country Friday when he suddenly announced he’d be vacating the speakership and leaving Congress on Oct. 30, citing “leadership turmoil.” A congressional veteran of 25 years, Boehner’s decision comes just before a highly-anticipated partisan fight over whether or not to fund Planned Parenthood as part of the larger federal budget – a debate that could result in a government shutdown if an agreement can’t be reached.
Reactions to Boehner’s resignation have varied among Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Many Republicans reacted to the news with relief, with presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) telling the Values Voters audience on Friday, “The time has come to turn the page and allow a new generation of leadership in this country.”
Others on both sides of the political aisle responded with more admiration. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) reportedly hailed the Speaker’s decision as “an act of courage,” while Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) called the move "an act of pure selflessness."