Payroll Tax Cut

Payroll Tax Backlash Follows GOP Home To Districts

Brian Beutler | December 22, 2011, 5:52AM

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)

Everyone knows House Republicans endured tremendous punishment all day Wednesday, making it clear to most observers that in the standoff over renewing this year's payroll tax cut, they'll have to blink.

But an even more important story, which escaped notice inside the Beltway, is that the lashings followed GOP members of Congress back to their states and districts.

Here's a roundup.

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Nan Hayworth

GOP Freshman Under Fire For Demanding Offsets For Disaster Relief In Her Own District

Brian Beutler | September 1, 2011, 9:39AM

Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY)

This isn't the sort of headline and lead paragraph you want to read in the local paper if you're a freshman House member in a marginal district: "Hayworth seeking to withhold disaster money unless it is offset by budget cuts: Only days after a record-setting storm destroyed her district, Rep. Nan Hayworth and her House colleagues threatened to withhold disaster money if lawmakers don't cut additional spending from the federal budget."

But that's exactly what the New York freshman woke up to this morning after saying she would only vote to replenish FEMA's disaster relief fund if the money is offset with spending cuts elsewhere in the budget, according to the paper. Her constituents, and officials in her district, don't want to hear about conditions -- even Republicans.

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Debt Ceiling

GOP Demand Obama Protect Seniors From Default, Won't Name What To Cut Instead

Benjy Sarlin | July 14, 2011, 2:46PM

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)

Republican lawmakers are pushing President Obama to put seniors, troops, and bondholders at the front of the line should Congress fail to raise the debt ceiling. The rest? Well, that's up to him.

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