WASHINGTON — Colorado Republicans in the U.S. House weren’t exactly weeping when Speaker John Boehner announced his resignation Friday, but no one was dancing on his political grave either.
U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, summed it up best, perhaps, when he gave credit to the Ohio Republican for trying to manage a restless GOP caucus that has struggled for years with the slow pace of change on Capitol Hill.
“Facing a Democrat president and stagnant Senate, Speaker Boehner has for almost five years been given the nearly impossible task of passing Republican legislation into law,” wrote Tipton in a statement.
That sentiment was echoed by U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, who highlighted the frustration many House conservatives had with Boehner’s approach to issues such as health care and government spending.
“Although we did not always agree on tactics and methods, I appreciate that Speaker Boehner did his best to serve the American people,” Lamborn said in a statement.
All four House Republicans from Colorado voted in January to re-elect Boehner as speaker, although freshman U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, said at the time it was a tough decision.
“John Boehner needs to be given a chance to work with a Republican majority in the Senate,” Buck ; he ultimately declined to join the who voted against Boehner.
Later, though, Buck got into a feud with House leadership, including Boehner, when Buck went against the party brass and voted against a major trade deal.
Buck in June of using that trade vote as the reason to try to unseat him from the mostly ceremonial position of GOP freshman class president — although a Boehner aide .
The minor coup against Buck ultimately failed, and Buck would go on to use the episode to help raise campaign dollars.
“When our Republican leadership aggressively punishes members who refuse to compromise their principles to benefit Obama, we’ve seriously lost our way,” wrote Buck in an e-mail appeal to supporters.
On Friday, aides to Buck said the lawmaker wasn’t available for comment or a press statement because he was preparing for back surgery.
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, who represents a district that is closely divided between Republicans and Democrats, released a statement in praise of Boehner.
“Speaker John Boehner was under constant attack from conservatives who thought he did not do enough and from liberals who thought he did too much,” Coffman said.
Mark K. Matthews: 202-662-8907, mmatthews@ denverpost.com or @mkmatthews
