KMA News - Young Reacts to Boehner's Resignation

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By Mike Peterson

While expressing shock and surprise, Iowa 3rd District Congressman David Young says House Speaker John Boehner made the right move in resigning.

Boehner stunned House Republicans in announcing his resignation next week. Saying that Congress and the republic, in general, will move on, Young expressed his support for Boehner's decision in an interview with KMA News.

"I think he was kind of tired of the job," said Young, "and he was planning on retiring, anyway, at the end of last year. But, there was nobody willing to succeed him, and he wanted to get in one more time for transition, and planned on leaving this fall on his birthday. So, I thought it was an act of courage and humility to give up that much power. But, it was the right thing to do, I think."

Some political observers say Boehner's resignation is a sign of a divided GOP. While saying Boehner wasn't forced out, Young says congressional Republicans need to regroup in the wake of his resignation.

"We've just got to reevaluate in Congress who we are," he said, "what are our goals, how can we include all the members, where do we fight that we know we can win the battle. And, we also have to remind folks, especially Republicans, that the enemy is not us, necessarily, The opposition is with the president and his policies, and that's where we should be focusing our attention for the American people."

The Van Meter Republican says one of Boehner's faults is that he failed to talk about the many achievements of House Republicans.

"We had done some great things with deficit reduction," said Young. "We had passed the most comprehensive entitlement reform package in the last 20 years, these kinds of things. We need to be better about messaging, as part of it, because we've done some good things."

Speculation is that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California will succeed Boehner as speaker. Florida Congressman Daniel Webster, however, has also expressed interest. Young says he plans to talk to both of his colleagues.

"I'm going to sit down and interview both of them," he said. "I'm going to see what their priorities are, how they plan to include members on issues and legislation from the ground up, and what our goals and priorities are."

Young made his comments in an interview during KMA's 7:35 news segment Wednesday morning.

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