TPMDC Chris Gibson
Scott Brown
GOP Fractures Further Over Payroll Tax Mess
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
House GOP aides basically admitted this to reporters yesterday, but it bears repeating. The reason they fashioned a Rube Goldberg-esque procedural device to kill the Senate payroll tax cut compromise is that they know they're now in political free fall on the issue. By doing things the way they did, at least vulnerable House Republicans can say that they didn't vote against a tax cut for the middle class.
This was probably the only way House GOP leaders were ever going to get the minority of their caucus on board with the vote. And if you want proof, look no further than the handful of Republicans who defected from their leadership Tuesday. Or, better yet, vulnerable Senate Republicans who are in cycle in 2012.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Topics: Barack Obama, Charlie Bass, Chris Gibson, Dean Heller, Frank Wolf, Harry Reid, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Jeff Flake, John Boehner, Payroll Tax Cut, Scott Brown, Tim Johnson, Walter Jones, White House
© 2011 TPM Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
