As a former minority leader who became the first Republican Speaker of the House in Florida since Reconstruction, I know that leadership is not an easy task.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I was Speaker of the House in Florida, first Republican speaker in 120 years. And I totally dismantled the way this House worked and turned it around to what I believe is right.
Being Speaker of the House is a really tough spot.
I've been a speaker. I've been a majority leader. I've been a minority leader. Those are the sort of things I don't need any more.
You talk about leading Republicans. That's no easy task on just like you were trying to lead Democrats on the other side. We all have independent thoughts and independent ideas.
I speak directly to the people, and I know that the people of California want to have better leadership. They want to have great leadership. They want to have somebody that will represent them. And it doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, young or old.
I'm probably one of the only people who has voted for the speaker of the House but didn't serve in Congress.
There's a lot of work to be done if you're going to run for president or if you're going to run for re-election in a state as big as Florida.
Leadership is hard to train on.
The Republican Party is a composition of the members of the party and not just the leadership.
I think the speaker of the House in Congress should be like the Massachusetts speaker: all-powerful. He should appoint committee chairmen and remove them if they stray from the party line. He should be answerable only to the caucus, which can remove him at any time. I'd throw the seniority system out on its ear in Congress.