How Boehner Told Members Payroll Tax Extension December 2011 Battle Was Over
TPM’s Brian Beutler gives us details on how a politically trapped House Speaker John Boehner told House Republicans that he felt it was time that the payroll tax extension battle of December 11 was over:
In a conference call with House Republicans early Thursday evening, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) took no questions after making it clear to his members that the game was up and they would have to swallow the Democratic payroll tax extension.
Boehner laid out the agreement he forged to temporarily renew the payroll tax holiday — one his members will hate — and said the goal is to pass the new bill by unanimous consent on Friday morning. That means if even a single recalcitrant Republican objects to his plan, the chaos will drag on for several days.
At a press conference with reporters just after the call, Boehner admitted he has no assurances that the unanimous consent request will fly — but in a sign that he’s finally laying down the law with his unruly members, he vowed to force them to take an up-or-down vote on the issue next week if they cause any trouble.
If there is trouble it’ll be a huge story — and yet another bad image for Tea Party.
Republicans (who are in tune with talk show hosts) — if this doesn’t pass by unanimous consent tomorrow. It would also likely further diminish Boehner’s clout.
Too often partisans of the left and right call any kind of compromise “caving” since they don’t want to give in at all. True political differences means each side gives something up. And that’s how American politics was done for years.
But this was not compromise: this was caving, in a situation of the Tea Party Republican’s own making and choosing, with Boehner caught in the middle and unable to control his own members.
Tonight he tried.
Tomorrow we’ll see if he succeeded.
5 Responses to “How Boehner Told Members Payroll Tax Extension December 2011 Battle Was Over”
Seeing the above post on “We Bought a Zoo,” I thought the movie was about Washington politics. The American people have certainly bought a zoo with the covey of politicians they have elected to represent them.
In this holiday season most Americans have realized that the House Republican Caucus has a number of odious fruitcakes that will never get better with age. Let us hope that enough of those who voted for them now have enough voter’s remorse that they can meet the fate that is so common to bad fruitcakes everywhere come the next election. Maybe if that happens the next election cycle will present candidates for Republican voters who understand that neither politics or compromise are dirty words.
Jim S.
You are hoping the voters are less militant than the elected; I fear that is not the case. They will vote these people in again because they are reflecting their constituency exactly – as others here have noted.
Being uneducated about the legislative process has led them into the error of thinking that right makes might – which has been what they have been led to believe by their religious leaders and cohorts. They really think God is on THEIR side and want legislative martyrs to their cause. Much like the secular purists on the left feel about their causes.
I fear it is too early to hope for rationality – these things must run their course, as they have done all through our history, and we can do little to control the damage. Though with modern communications, things deteriorate more rapidly and may recover more rapidly as well. Let’s hope so.
Only our ponderous two year election cycle has held things in check so far.
Jim: “Let us hope that enough of those who voted for them now have enough voter’s remorse that they can meet the fate that is so common to bad fruitcakes everywhere come the next election”.
Problem is many of the states went into Republican control and this was a redistricting year based on new census data. Many states like North Carolina changed lines to further isolate left and right voters, all while making it easier for the right to capture more seats than previously held.
So the problem is only more intensified when the districts are more far left or far right oriented. Few moderates will be able to capture those seats, so buyers remorse will have to be huge for a center right voter to move and vote for a far left liberal. They most likely will hold their nose and vote for the far right candidate as they have more in common, even though they hate some of the candidates positions.
I’d love to see a lot more states move to the independent commission method of drawing up voting districts.