Boehner: You Don't Have to Love Romney to Vote for Him

Voters who choose Mitt Romney will do so more out of opposition to President Barack Obama than enthusiasm for the Republican candidate, House Speaker John Boehner says.

Aside from Romney’s “friends, relatives and fellow Mormons,” most voters will be inspired by their antipathy for Obama, Boehner said at a  fundraiser in Wheeling, W. Va., Roll Call reports.

Boehner’s political office provided the speaker’s quotes that he made on June 30 after the news service sought to clarify different versions provided by some in the audience of 200 to 300.

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During a question-and-answer session a woman asked the Ohio Republican, “Can you make me love Mitt Romney?”

“No,” Boehner responded. “Listen, we’re just politicians. I wasn’t elected to play God.

"The American people probably aren’t going to fall in love with Mitt Romney. I’ll tell you this: 95 percent of the people that show up to vote in November are going to show up in that voting booth, and they are going to vote for or against Barack Obama.”

As for who will vote with enthusiasm for Romney and his ideas, “Mitt Romney has some friends, relatives and fellow Mormons, . . . some people that are going to vote for him. But that’s not what this election is about. This election is going to be a referendum on the president’s failed economic policies,” Boehner said.

“Mitt Romney believes, just like we do, that if we’re going to get the economy back, if we’re going to put the American people back to work, we need to fix the tax code, we need to stop the regulatory juggernaut that’s going on in Washington, and we need to fix our economy. Solid guy, he’s going to do a great job, even if you don’t fall in love with him.”

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