Try Not to Get So Excited Boehner

The Republican Speaker offers the latest weak endorsement of Mitt Romney.

by

Mitt Romney had no trouble garnering more endorsements than his opponents during the Republican primaries, though a number of prominent figures held off from granting Romney their nod until his nomination was all but certain. John Boehner was one such politician-no huge surprise given his position in the party (then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi refrained from directly endorsing Obama in the 2008 primary though it was clear she supported him against Hillary Clinton).

Now that Romney is the presumptive candidate Boehner is free to offer his support, but boy does he sound unexcited about the idea:

"It's clear now that Mitt Romney is going to be our nominee," the Speaker told reporters after a House GOP conference meeting. "I think Mitt Romney has a set of economic policies that can put Americans back to work and contrast sharply with the failed economic policies of President Obama. And I will be proud to support Mitt Romney and do everything I can to help him win."

This is just the latest in a string of tepid endorsements from Republicans since Romney secured the nomination. As a Washington Post/ABC News poll showed yesterday, the Republican electorate has resigned itself to a Romney candidacy, but they're not excited about it.

A second Trump administration will cement a right-wing majority on the Supreme Court for a generation, and put our collective future in the hands of someone who will be virtually unchecked by our institutions. The country has shifted rightward, and the reverberations will ensue for potentially the next few decades. In this climate, a robust independent media ecosystem will be more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on how Trump's agenda will actually affect the American people, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in this country.

Quality journalism is expensive to produce, and we don't have corporate backers to rely on to fund what we do. Everything we do is thanks to our incredible community of readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to make our work possible. Any amount you give today will help us continue reporting on what matters to our democracy.

You can help power this newsroom by making a one-time donation or by becoming a member today.