You can judge a man by friends, the old saying goes. And Congressional Democrats are telling The Hill that they would prefer John Boehner to any conservative insurgent, should a coup attempt to remove him from his speakership. Mike Lillis writes:

 Democrats from across an ideological spectrum say they'd rather see Boehner remain atop the House than replace him with a more conservative Speaker who would almost certainly be less willing to reach across the aisle in search of compromise. Replacing him with a Tea Party Speaker, they say, would only bring the legislative process — already limping along — to a screeching halt.

“I'd probably vote for Boehner [because] who the hell is going to replace him? [Ted] Yoho?,” Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said Wednesday, referencing the Florida Tea Party Republican who’s fought Boehner on a host of bipartisan compromise bills. 

“In terms of the institution, I would rather have John Boehner as the Speaker than some of these characters who came here thinking that they're going to change the world,” Pascrell added.

Liberal Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) agreed that for Democrats, replacing Boehner could lead to a worse situation.  

“Then we would get Scalise or somebody? Geez, come on,” said Grijalva, who referenced House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). “We can be suicidal, but not stupid.”

“Vote for Boehner, the Democrats’ choice for Speaker,” doesn’t exactly turn on GOP voters. Expect 2016 candidates for the House to face questioning on whether they will support Boehner.