Florida Congressman Richard Nugent (R), fresh off being booted from his seat on the House Rules Committee for opposing Speaker John Boehner in the recent Speaker of the House election, delivered a magnificent gutting of Boehner by calling out the Speaker’s missteps and poor leadership.
Dang!
According to Politico, Nugent said, “As I said to him privately this week, I don’t believe that John Boehner is the best man for the job. This may surprise some people (including the Speaker) but it has far more to do with his leadership abilities than it does with his conservatism,” adding:
What I mean by that is that if you can’t lead and you can’t deliver, then your own personal political philosophy is pretty much irrelevant. I’ve gone into far more detail about this criticism with him privately than I will here, but suffice it to say that there have been far too many occasions over the last four years where the House has been ineffective and America just can’t wait any longer. America needs vision, a sense of purpose, and an ability to follow through. We aren’t getting those things.
Everyone, repeat after me: OUCH!
Nugent then added more political salt to Boehner’s gut wound by stating, “In short, (and not all of my colleagues feel this way) you don’t run to the newspapers and talk disparagingly about a colleague without first having the decency to say it to his face.” Elaborating, he said:
It took a few days to have that opportunity, but in the end, we sat privately and I let him know exactly why I voted against him. What you’ve seen here is an “executive summary” of those criticisms. The rest, Speaker Boehner has heard I hope he takes it to heart. I really do.
Don’t expect Nugent to be invited for midday drinks with Boehner anytime soon.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.