House Speaker John Boehner, who announced of Friday he will be stepping down and resigning from Congress on October 30, said his more conservative opponents are not being realistic about how things are accomplished in Washington.
The tea party wing of the party has had its sights set on Boehner for quite some time, and he was only narrowly re-elected speaker in 2013. Conservative members have reportedly been plotting to force him to step down amid the debate over defunding Planned Parenthood.
Appearing Sunday on "Face the Nation," Boehner said he had always intended to step down at year's end anyway, and said he would have gotten the overwhelming majority of votes had he been challenged.
But he said the didn't want to make fellow Republicans "walk the plank" with voters back home because their constituents felt they weren't being aggressive enough.
He ticked off a list of accomplishments made under his leadership, including stopping a tax inc
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