House Republicans

Just thought that I'd start a thread about the continuing insanity that's going on in the House of Representatives.

The latest fiasco over the payroll tax seems like a good place to start.


House Set to Vote Down Payroll Tax Cut Extension

Quote :

Speaker John A. Boehner said Monday that the House would reject a Senate plan for a two-month extension of payroll tax relief and unemployment benefits, and called on Congress to work through the holidays if necessary to find agreement on longer-term legislation.

I don't get it. First the House insists on including the asinine Keystone Pipeline rider that they attached to the approval of the Payroll Tax. Obama accepted it, even after saying that he didn't want it in the bill. Then the Senate passes ( 89-10) a 2 month extension of the payroll tax, with the pipeline provision included, and now the crazies in the House say that's not good enough? Give me a frickin' break!

Quote :

Senator Scott Brown, a Republican facing re-election in Massachusetts, called his Republican colleagues in the House “irresponsible and wrong” for rejecting the Senate bill.

“The refusal to compromise now threatens to increase taxes on hard-working Americans and stop unemployment benefits for those out of work,” Mr. Brown said in a statement Monday. “During this time of divided government, both parties need to be reasonable and come to the negotiating table in good faith. We cannot allow rigid partisan ideology and unwillingness to compromise stand in the way of working together for the good of the American people.”

Brown is right, of course. Almost all the Republicans in the Senate went along with this bill, and now Boehner is killing the bill... even after he assured the Senate Republicans that he would accept anything that they agreed to...

IMHO, The House GOP is making a huge mistake.

2 reasons behind this,IMO...

1) Boehner obviously has no control,power,or influence over his colleagues and this statement certainly seems to prove it.

Quote :

During a GOP conference call on Saturday, Boehner initially praised the Senate’s inclusion of language calling on Obama to make a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days. Boehner said the Senate package “isn’t perfect, but Keystone is a victory.” The House should pass it, the Ohio congressman said, adding that Republicans will live to fight another day, GOP sources said.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70618.html#ixzz1h1449xME

2)If Obama is for it,the crazies who control the House are against it.

Yeah. Besides, this is way more important than extending the payroll tax break and unemployment benefits...

Boehner: We'll take Churchill bust in the Capitol

Quote :

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has introduced a resolution calling for a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to be placed in the U.S. Capitol, and the House is expected to approve the resolution on Monday.

If passed, the resolution would once again return Churchill to a prime spot in the nation's capitol. President Obama in 2009 famously returned a bust of Churchill that was in the White House back to Britain, sparking complaints that Obama seemed to be diminishing the primacy of the U.S.-British relationship.

Yeah. Almost everyone I talk to is really, really concerned about this Churchill "snub." Thank God that they're taking care of this before the holidays!

Honestly, the House GOP acts like they're totally insane.

I can't imagine what historians are going to think 10, 20 years from now. We were all pretty staggered by the disconnect from reality during Bush's years in the White House, and we're all pretty much in agreement that he was absolutely terrible, but holy hell, not even Palin could have prepared us for this. Honestly, the only thing maintaining my sanity is the Daily Show.

The Republican platform of those in Congress really is nothing more than "fuck this President!" They really are determined to make sure that this President is a one term President, whatever the costs to the American people and our economy; demonstrably so. That said, I can't help but wonder who is responsible: the voters themselves or the conservatives in the media constantly painting the President as a Christian extremist/Muslim jihadist, foreign-born in Hawaii antichrist, radical socialist in the pocket of Wall Street, to be opposed at any and all costs...?

But at least the Anyone But Romney campaign will be comedy gold for years. No matter what happens, I'll always get a chuckle out of the fact that Donald Trump was, at one time, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

Heretic wrote:

I can't imagine what historians are going to think 10, 20 years from now. We were all pretty staggered by the disconnect from reality during Bush's years in the White House, and we're all pretty much in agreement that he was absolutely terrible, but holy hell, not even Palin could have prepared us for this. Honestly, the only thing maintaining my sanity is the Daily Show.

Yeah. I know exactly what you mean. It's great that someone puts the insanity in perspective, isn't it?

The House Republicans have really screwed themselves this time. This is truly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. After they got the pipeline provision included, they should have declared victory and passed the legislation. I guess they got greedy and thought that they could get even more concessions, but I really don't think that it's going to work this time.

At the very least, they are going to need to return before the end of the year and actually vote on the 2 month extension that overwhelmingly passed in the Senate. If they don't, then there is absolutely no question that the House Republicans will be blamed for raising taxes on the middle class... gotta love the irony.

House Republicans Cave on Payroll Tax Cuts Extension

It's about time!

What the hell were they thinking?

It will be interesting to see if Boehner keeps his job. House Repubs from Planet Wingnuttia are extremely upset with him.

happy jack wrote:

Scorpion wrote:

At the very least, they are going to need to return before the end of the year and actually vote on the 2 month extension that overwhelmingly passed in the Senate. If they don't, then there is absolutely no question that the House Republicans will be blamed for raising taxes on the middle class... gotta love the irony.

After the 2 months elapse, who will be blamed for raising taxes on the middle class?
Gotta love the irony.

I don't think that there is any question that the Democrats want to extend the payroll tax holiday for an entire year. The Senate just couldn't agree on how to do that before the end of this year.

Perhaps you didn't understand my post? Because it's either that, or you don't have a firm grasp of what "irony" means...

If it's the former, then just let me know. I'll be glad to clarify.

happy jack wrote:

[b]After the 2 months elapse, who will be blamed for raising taxes on the middle class?
Gotta love the irony.[/quote]
Whoever blocks the legislation to have it extended will be the ones held accountable. Now which party has a penchant for filibustering or blocking just about everything Obama wants?

Heretic wrote:

The Republican platform of those in Congress really is nothing more than "fuck this President!" They really are determined to make sure that this President is a one term President, whatever the costs to the American people and our economy; demonstrably so. That said, I can't help but wonder who is responsible: the voters themselves or the conservatives in the media constantly painting the President as a Christian extremist/Muslim jihadist, foreign-born in Hawaii antichrist, radical socialist in the pocket of Wall Street, to be opposed at any and all costs...?

Well what do you expect when in 2010 Mitch McConnell says:

Quote :

“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”

That is all they care about...surely not the middle class...

2012 is going to be fun to watch....
What Boehner Faces In 2012 After Payroll Tax Debacle

Quote :

In the immediate aftermath of the GOP’s payroll tax debacle, a handful of conservative House Republicans publicly attacked their leaders — particularly Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

“I am disappointed that our Republican leadership in both the House and Senate chose a course of political expediency rather than standing on conservative principle,” said Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) in an official statement.

Others appealed to Fox News, where conservatives and Republicans feel more comfortable expounding on party/movement contretemps.

“He’s (Boehner) got a big problem when he comes back,” one anonymous congressman claimed. “He may have a hard time keeping his Speakership after this.”

“We were hung out to dry by our leadership,” said another unnamed member.

The list goes on. But the holidays calmed the backlash, and with a week’s hindsight a consensus of sorts has emerged among party strategists, aides (current and former) and congressional scholars. Not all agree on the question of how well or poorly Boehner handled the situation. But though Boehner’s 2012 won’t be easy, those House conservatives who were seeing blood last week are likely to be disappointed again.

“I don’t think his leadership is going to be taken away from him over the course of the next year,” said Norm Ornstein — a Congress expert at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. “But I’m expecting a pretty difficult year ahead for him next year.”