John Boehner: ‘We Fought The Good Fight,’ Admits Defeat

John Boehner admitted defeat on Wednesday, saying, “We fought the good fight,” in the Republican effort to disable the Affordable Care Act (commonly called Obamacare).

Boehner said the words to conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham, on Cincinnati’s The Bill Cunningham Show, adding, “We just didn’t win.”

The comments from the House Speaker came after several negotiations to halt the government shutdown and deal with whether or not to raise the US debt limit.

NBC News notes that Boehner added that he will “absolutely” allow the whole House to vote on a plan introduced in the Senate on Wednesday, which would fund the government until mid-January and raise the debt limit until early February.

While John Boehner believes the GOP ‘fought the good fight,” not everyone agreed. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) stated that he will vote “no” on the Senate’s bill. USA Today notes that Cruz, a Tea Party favorite, told reporters, “I’ve never had any intention of delaying the timing of this vote.”

Cruz added “It appears the Washington establishment is refusing to listen to the American people. The deal that has been cut provides no relief to the millions of Americans who are hurting because of Obamacare.” The Texas Republican held a 21-hour filibuster style protest against Obamacare last month, which helped contribute to the government shutdown, which started more than two weeks ago.

Boehner may agree with Cruz, but he stated in the Wednesday interview, “There’s no good reason for our members to vote ‘no.’ ” He held the interview shortly before going into a closed-door meeting with other Republicans, who will likely be reluctant to vote “yes” on the deal, because it does little to undo Obamacare.

However, Boehner will encourage his colleagues to vote in favor of the agreement. A House vote will take place at 11 pm EDT and could end the shutdown and raise the debt ceiling by Thursday.

Do you think John Boehner and other GOP members “fought the good fight?”