House Speaker John Boehner weighed in on the Occupy Wall Street protests Monday, saying he understands demonstrators “frustrations.”
“I understand people’s frustrations,” Mr. Boehner said during an appearance at the University of Louisville. “The economy is not producing jobs like they want and there’s lot of erosion of confidence in our government and frankly, under the First Amendment, people have the right to speak out … but that doesn’t mean they have the permission to violate the law.”
“Beyond that, I lived through the riots of the Vietnam War … and you can see how some of those activities got out of control. A lot of people lived through the race riots of 1968 that was clearly out of control, and I’m hopeful that these demonstrations will continue to be peaceful,” Mr. Boehner added.
The Ohio Republican, who has engaged with the Obama administration in recent weeks over a proposed jobs bill, said Monday that voters should have faith and confidence in the ability of Congress to create jobs and restore economic growth.
“My message today is simple: Faith in government has never been high, but it doesn’t have to be this low,” said Mr. Boehner.
The House speaker shared the stage with his fellow congressional Republican leader, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. The Kentucky Republican welcomed Mr. Boehner to his alma mater as part of the McConnell Center’s fall lecture series.
Mr. Boehner is the latest official to comment on the Occupy Wall Street movement. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican, faced criticism earlier this month after referring to the demonstrators as a “mob.”
Mr. Boehner’s take on the movement seems to echo earlier sentiments expressed by President Obama. Speaking earlier this month, Mr. Obama said that the movement “expresses the frustrations that the American people feel.”
