Washington, D.C. – Congressman Ben Ray Luján, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, participated in the press conference today that followed the Democratic Caucus meeting. Luján spoke of Speaker Boehner’s resignation, just the latest example of House Republicans chaos, and the potential fallout for all Republicans. Below is a transcript of his remarks.
Congressman Ben Ray Luján: My colleagues remind us about the responsibility of governing.
House Republicans have demonstrated all year that they cannot govern responsibly on behalf of hardworking, everyday Americans, putting infighting over governing and reckless positions over progress.
The Republican Party is broken and Speaker Boehner’s resignation is the starkest and most high-profile example of that dysfunction and chaos.
It’s disturbing that Speaker Boehner was somehow not conservative enough for many of our Republican colleagues.
But, let’s be clear: this is not a Speaker Boehner problem, it’s a Republican problem. This is a Republican conference problem.
And, the next Speaker will face the same stark choice as Boehner: go along with the extreme base, or get run over by them.
The right wing is emboldened right now and that will only continue to grow as we approach big upcoming deadlines: raising the debt ceiling, [tax] extenders, the highway trust fund, and extending the Export-Import Bank.
But, the American people are watching and they know that this fight within the Republican conference, that is on full display with all this dysfunction, it matters to them. It impacts their lives.
There’s no doubt that voters are paying attention to the broken, Republican-controlled Congress and know that it is not functioning at all, let alone functioning to make their lives better.
And it’s clear, Republicans will be held accountable for this dysfunction in moderate and swing districts across America.
[Turns over to Congresswoman Jackie Speier]