September 2, 2008 Boehner pledges reform, rips Congress in RNC opener Play video

(NECN: St. Paul, Minn.) - Pledging reforms to fix a Washington he describes as "broken", the House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, pledged that the GOP would carry a spirit of change to victory in November, and deliver John McCain to the White House.

"Washington today is broken and teh Democratic Congress is it's most visible symbol," Boehner told delegates as the Republican National Convention began its first full evening. Boehner said that while the Republicans learned lessons from their defeat in the Congressional elections of 2006, "the Democrats have not", citing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Sen. Barack Obama by name.

He praised Congressional Republicans who have remained at the Capitol in protest of Pelosi's decision to send Congress home without a comprehensive energy bill, and noted a Republican Party in 2008 that "led by John McCain and Sarah Palin, we're offering reforms that put our country's priorities ahead of Washington's."