Capitol Stand-off: Republicans Caving?
EmailMy prediction: House Republicans will eventually cave in and accept the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut passed last week by the Senate.
I base this on conversations with House Republicans who know they are losing the public relations battle and losing it badly. They know they are taking the blame for a stand-off that threatens to raise taxes on 160 million Americans. And they cannot let that happen.
As one top House Republican aide just told me: “I do not expect taxes to go up on January 1st.”
At this point, there is really only one way for taxes not to go up on January 1st: House Republicans need to fold. Democrats won’t give in because they are completely confident that House Republicans will take the blame for the impasse. And Republicans don’t disagree.
Republicans are now searching for a face-saving way to give up. The most likely scenario would be for Democrats to agree to negotiations on a full-year extension to begin as soon as next week – but only after the House passes the two-month extension.
House Republicans find themselves in a political disastrous position. They are almost entirely alone in this stand-off. Not only did the Senate pass the two-month extension with overwhelming Republican support (only seven Senate Republicans voted no), but several prominent Republicans, including Scott Brown and John McCain, have called on the House to pass the bill.
And the GOP-friendly Wall Street Journal editorial page today denounced House Republicans, saying they had “achieved the small miracle of letting Mr. Obama position himself as an election-year tax cutter.”
“Republicans would do best to cut their losses and find a way to extend the payroll holiday quickly,” the Wall Street Journal editorial advised. “Then go home and return in January with a united House-Senate strategy that forces Democrats to make specific policy choices that highlight the differences between the parties on spending, taxes and regulation.”
And that, I predict, is exactly what they will do.
UPDATE: Not so fast. Another top House Republican aide cautions that a resolution to the payroll tax standoff will likely take longer than 24 hours – and potentially may not happen until next week.
The issue: rank and file Republicans think the Senate bill is “atrociously bad.” They don’t want their leadership to give up so quickly after voting overwhelmingly to reject it yesterday.
“Our members expect us to spend some time explaining and defending what we did – even if we are playing from a disadvantageous position,” said the House Republican aide.
This aide agrees that the payroll tax cut will almost certainly be extended before January 1 and that Republicans will likely be forced to accept the two-month extension, but he warns that the standoff may go on for several more days.
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I HOPE NOT!!!!!! Senate needs to get back the do the RIGHT THING
Posted by: justine | December 21, 2011, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
Sure let’s HIGHLIGHT the differences between the two parties. Republicans for the RICH!! Democrats for ALL the American people!!!
Posted by: demNme5 | December 21, 2011, 2:39 pm 2:39 pm
DEMNME5 has it all wrong, it’s REALLT the other way around. The Dems have tried to portray the Republicans as being for the rich, when the Democrats are the party for the rich all along. It’s a tactic of the democrats to sway the people of America away from the more conservative side.
Posted by: Tom | December 21, 2011, 2:47 pm 2:47 pm
And that, I predict, is exactly what they will do.
None of these guys make sense to me. What exactly will 2 months do? Very little if nothing except redistribute wealth from those evil rich to those who pay nothing anyway.
Posted by: david | December 21, 2011, 2:49 pm 2:49 pm
Oh what fools the GnOP are…I’m just happy it’s all out in public finally for everyone to see. They despise the President and while rig the economy for failure if they think this will garner support among THEIR base. But America is watching, and America will be voting.
Posted by: Haitiana4Obama | December 21, 2011, 2:53 pm 2:53 pm
jonathan karl wrote:”My prediction: House Republicans will soon – probably within 24 hours – cave in and accept the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut passed last week by the Senate.”
.
And it looks like Jonathan and ABC “News” are doing everything possible to make that happen. No sense in reporting the actual facts about the differences between the two bills and the actual timeline on what has transpired so far. No, much better to promote a fight so that no one notices that the country is $15 TRILLION in debt and oBama and the DEMOCRATS have not done a single thing to improve that situation. Unprecedented failures…. ABC News included.
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | December 21, 2011, 3:08 pm 3:08 pm
No one has to PORTRAY the Republicans in ANY way because the American Voter knows exactly how the GOP does business and we’re SICK OF IT!
Posted by: demNme5 | December 21, 2011, 3:11 pm 3:11 pm
This has been a pattern for as long as I can remember. The public gets fooled once again to put Republicans in power and faster then you can say bankrupt, the Country goes down the tubes. Then they once again elect a Democrat in an effort to clean up the mess left once again by the party of greed and obstruction.
Posted by: Jim | December 21, 2011, 3:49 pm 3:49 pm
Does Boehner communicate with Mitch McConnell at all? When McConnell was working out this compromise with Harry Reid, which passed the Senate 89 to 11, did Boehner ever tell him it was a waste of time because the House would only settle for one year? Aren’t they both republicans?
Do we really want these boneheads running our country?
Posted by: tmferretti | December 21, 2011, 3:57 pm 3:57 pm
Stupid lying conniving conservatives need to be tarred and feathered en masse in every state and county , they’ve destroyed the American Dream so that about 1-3% of the US taxpayers can live like royalty while the other poor dolts , i.e. ” the little people” to quote a really nice conservative person , live like a pack of rats , fighting each other to survive on a few table scraps the elite happen to toss their way , i.e. min. wage jobs , aka legalized slave labor , and they’d like to do away with min. wage if they could too, what a sweethearted bunch of empathetic humans conservatives are …NOT . This is NOT what America is supposed to be , and the sooner all Americans reject conservatism as a decent ahd fair political ideal in this country , which it surely isn’t , the sooner we can get back to being and raising good decent Americans who care about each other again .
Posted by: DAVEM | December 21, 2011, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
I will support the Republican candidate for President this time…but after that it’s THIRD PARTY for me. I’ve had enough of spineless RINOs and big-government Republicans who talk conservative when it’s election time but don’t walk the walk. DO WHAT’S RIGHT FOR ONCE, you jerks! Hold the line and FIGHT, don’t let the Dems roll you all the frickin’ time!
Posted by: Not Chicken Little | December 21, 2011, 4:04 pm 4:04 pm
The Republicans will cave because of politics not principle. There’s is something wrong with that. It’s time to vote for conservatives.
Posted by: Citizen C | December 21, 2011, 4:12 pm 4:12 pm
I’m sick of the GOP games. Not voting for a single GOP politician in 2012. NOT ONE !!
Posted by: Jeanne021556 | December 21, 2011, 4:21 pm 4:21 pm
But, if they cave, how can they make sure their next attempt at hostage taking works?
Posted by: DefendOurConstitution | December 21, 2011, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
I hope everyone who voted GOP/tea party and they took over the House, is very happy with the results! Keep voting them in until we have no country left! And anyone who would vote for any of the candidates running for president needs their head examined…they look like escapes from the circus and sound like them too.
Posted by: Barb | December 21, 2011, 4:28 pm 4:28 pm
UPDATE: If the standoff goes on for several more days the Republicans will look even worse! (is that even possible?) If they cave, Boehner will be deposed as speaker in January, but if they don’t cave many more Republicans will be deposed in November 2012.
If they are going to cave, it would make more sense to do it before Christmas so that people (hopefully) forget, and then they can say that they are not raising taxes on working Americans before the Holiday.
Posted by: DefendOurConstitution | December 21, 2011, 5:14 pm 5:14 pm
If they “cave” they should do so after President Obama has enjoyed his Christmas in Washington DC!!! President Obama will “cave” in order to get his all expense paid Hawaiian vacation!
Posted by: Common _ Sense | December 21, 2011, 6:44 pm 6:44 pm
Civics 101: The House passed a bill FIRST. The Senate passed their version of the bill SECOND. The next step is to resolve/negotiate the differences in the bills – not go home for 1 month! Call Harry Reid and call your senators and demand they go back to Washington to finish their work. If you walked off the job like the senate did, would you still have a job??
Posted by: deanbob | December 21, 2011, 7:11 pm 7:11 pm
Republicans are now searching for a face-saving way to give up.
The only face-saving is for the base the damage is done there is no way out for them on this.
Posted by: antf12345 | December 22, 2011, 7:03 am 7:03 am
The American people are being lead down a very bad path. And they do not even realize it. Being fooled to think they are getting a tax cut, with money they would be paying into social security. We are a country 15 trillion dollars in debt, and they want to
underfund your social security. Both party’s claim they want to be fiscally responsible
also. So here is their plan,vote for me and look we will give you a tax break. we will let
you keep your own money if you vote for us. Wake up fellow citizens we our broke.
Funny, why are they not taking the pay cut we are all suffering through. Why are their benefits not slashed. No fellow citizens they are saying keep your own 40 or 50
dollars a week, but vote for us. So really what is that, a pizza, and a half a tank of gas
that’s what we get. No what we get is social security retirement age raised again.
We all have to figure out how to pay for some crazy healthcare bill unless we get
subsidize, and if you do, the rest of us can pay more for you. No we get nothing more
than more kick the can down the road some more, for the vote for me now crap.
not one responsible politician in the hole lot. Because if there was this tax cut would
not get done and fiscal reforms would be front and center.
Posted by: deadwrestler | December 22, 2011, 10:42 am 10:42 am
DEADWRESTLER | DECEMBER 22, 2011, 10:42 AM……..Many don’t want to hear the facts!
Posted by: deanbob | December 22, 2011, 11:40 am 11:40 am
Those of you who are only supporting the Dems and Repubs positions are destroying this country. Wake up!! This is not about a tax cut or money, its about power and control by the elite. Remember, the Senate represents the rich and wealthy in this country, do you really think they passed this bill without strings attached. The medicare system is going bankrupt and the public supports defunding it while increasing outlays?!? This is not going to end well for those of us in the middle class or lower!! We are handing over our freedoms and security to the gov’t without any benefits or checks and balances. Dangerous!! At least the House was fighting for oil and stability, which they apparently are going to wimp out on!! You should trust the Senate less than the House!!
Posted by: R. Glenn | December 22, 2011, 4:38 pm 4:38 pm
Capitol Stand-off: Republicans Caving? I think NOT… more like the middle class & poor is caving from the weight of political partisanship, to many elected officials are out of sync with people that actually work for a living.
Posted by: Dano | December 22, 2011, 8:39 pm 8:39 pm