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In an Act of Political Cowardice House Republicans Shove America Off the Fiscal Cliff
Cowardly House Republicans will shove America off the fiscal cliff because they are afraid of voting for tax increase on the wealthy.
House Republicans are saying that they can’t vote tonight on any agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff because the bill will take time to get through the Senate. However, CNN is reporting the suspected real reason for the non-vote, “GOP sources admitted there is an added benefit to the Senate’s delay: taxes would already be up, so lawmakers could argue that they are voting for tax cuts, as opposed to tax increases.One GOP source also said that may help get more House Republicans to vote for the deal.”
In plain English, Speaker Boehner does not have the votes to pass any agreement tonight. Rank and file House Republicans are such cowards that they would rather shove America off the fiscal cliff, so that they can claim that they are voting for tax cuts instead of tax increases.
All of this drama is because House Republicans want to pretend like they aren’t raising taxes.
The flaw in this “logic” is that no matter when the vote occurs, House Republicans will still be voting to keep in place a tax increase for someone. I suspect that this is fact is the main reason why the likelihood of the House passing any agreement is questionable.
Remember, this is the same legislative body who would not vote on Boehner’s Plan B which would have raised taxes only on millionaires. Enough House Republicans will be lured in by the idea of being able to say that they “cut” taxes for the 98% to probably pass any agreement, but how many Americans do they really think they can fool with this claim?
Once again House Republicans have manufactured a fiscal crisis, only to see it blow up in their faces.
After taxes go up on those earning $250,000 or more, one has to wonder what incentive President Obama will have to pursue a deal? I suspect that if House Republicans don’t act quickly a.k.a. tomorrow, President Obama will force them to sweeten the pot. The House had best pass any agreement as soon as it is offered to them, or there may not be a deal left on the table.
House Republicans caused this mess, and because they refuse to take responsibility for their actions, they are set to push the country off the fiscal cliff in a desperate attempt to give themselves the slightest political cover.
The events of today demonstrate that it isn’t our government that is broken and dysfunctional. The Senate and the White House have been trying to do their jobs. The reason why Washington can’t get anything done begins and ends with the Republican control of the House of Representatives.
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19 Responses to In an Act of Political Cowardice House Republicans Shove America Off the Fiscal Cliff
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mjh
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:11 pm
After taxes go up on those earning $250,000 or more, one has to wonder what incentive President Obama will have to pursue a deal? I suspect that if House Republicans don’t act quickly a.k.a. tomorrow, President Obama will force them to sweeten the pot.
You suspect correctly, Jason.
Ezra Klein posited the same thing:
“The GOP’s congressional leaders want to tell their members that if they just vote for this modest tax increase now, then they can move onto the debt ceiling, where their enhanced leverage will let them force a deal that’s all spending cuts. Obama, in effect, said that’s not true. He said if Republicans raise taxes now, he’s going to pocket that tax increase and demand tax increases in the next deal, too.”
www.washingtonpost.com/bl...
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fredaruthproject
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:41 pm
This debacle belongs wholly and completely to Speaker Boehner. He refused to bring the senate bill to a vote, thereby not allowing those Republicans who did not want to go over the “fiscal cliff” an opportunity for redemption. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Larry Dillon
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:16 pm
They are not cowards.They are deluded twisted Tea-Nuts.That Ideology must be obliterated.Its quite Anti-American.More Pro-Deranged Sick Evil Nut Jobs.
mjh
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:38 pm
They are not cowards.They are deluded twisted Tea-Nuts.
Those two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive . . .
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Gordon Hilgers
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:34 pm
Perhaps us poor people should conduct a Teahad of our own and put bounties on the heads of all Tea Party Caucus members, you know, Allen West’s scalp for a Happy Meal. Or, we could so overload that caucus with cans of Spam they’d never know what to do with it all.
Not once did these Congressional members offer to just work for free. In fact, if they really gave a hot damn for the debt, they’d have volunteered to work for free. They don’t care about the debt. They think they can force us into a free market by turning the government into an underfunded, dysfunctional mess.
I think the “Scalps for Happy Meals” program should begin instead.
James Farner
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:49 pm
While I am greatly displeased with Congress in general (Representativess AND the Senate), this is not nearly as “cowardly” as the author states. The Republicans are being…Republicans. They are against spending and taxing people more. I think the automatic 10% US Federal budget cuts are a great thing to slap us into reality.
We need to stop spending money. Tax increases solve the problem momentarily until taxes are raised yet again.
mjh
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 6:45 pm
We need to stop spending money.
You want a nation of nearly 310 million citizens that forms the world’s largest economy to simply stop spending money — entirely?
Another “we have a spending problem” parrot . . . funny how we never had a “spending problem” when we were spending $12 billion/month on two preemptive wars and trying to fund them with tax cuts . . .
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Shiva (Moderator)
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 7:15 pm
They had their offer from the pres. Big spending cuts and cuts to SS. They said no. They screwed up
aspromised
Jan. 1st, 2013 at 1:37 am
No! The US *had* a spending problem. First Reagan, though at least tax rates went up, but we’ll never recover from the Bush era. We have a REVENUE problem. Two unpaid wars plus lowered taxes on stagnated wages. That’slike taking a year-long cruise on credit and deciding to only work part-time afterwards.
The American people have gotten an easy ride on their taxes for too long.
Remember, you HAD a spending problem, the bills are overdue.
Inez
Jan. 1st, 2013 at 10:06 pm
FPAYCHECK FOR NOT WORKING? acts to poner. If they are SOOOO against spending, then why take a PAYCHECK for not working??? Why did GE get a tax brak in 2010.for 3.2billion? Why are we subsiding oil baron’s companies when theyshow HUGE profits.??Why are they lagging on the Farm bill which would control the priceof agallon of milk, prjected to cost $7.00-8.00agallon? Why subside big banks who screwed the mortgage holders? GOP GET OUR PROFITS that’swhy!
1voice1vote
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:50 pm
Republicans – just doing their bit to asphyxiate the USA’s economy.
And a tax increase for New Year’s for you and me. Thanks, House of Republicans!
Dr Doneau Probst
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:54 pm
So be it. There is an election coming up in 2014. Perchance the American people will wake up and relieve the whole lot of Republicans of the burden of legislation at that point. The GOP is a total and miserable failure, and the Tea Party is the cancer at the heart of the GOP.
Dan Heynen
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 6:21 pm
We’ll assume you are moving forward in time and meant 2014…
mjh
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 6:54 pm
So be it. There is an election coming up in 2010.
Well, we already had that. I think you mean 2014. :)
Perchance the American people will wake up and relieve the whole lot of Republicans of the burden of legislation at that point. The GOP is a total and miserable failure, and the Tea Party is the cancer at the heart of the GOP.
Agreed. As I’ve said before, the Teabaggers had their heyday in 2009-10, when they were the Kochsucker Brothers-funded end result of people throwing a temper tantrum over the Black guy with the funny name getting into the White House.
They haven’t even had very many events over the last couple of years, because the Koch’s had to spend all their money on buying Mitt the presidency.
Some of the loudmouth teabaggers that got elected to Congress like Joe Walsh and Allen West already got their pink slips this past election; with public tide turning against them, the few remaining ones should be added to the unemployment rolls in ’14.
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m-girl
Jan. 1st, 2013 at 12:30 pm
My district is so gerrymandered that my teabagger rep, John Culberson, has the most rabidly monied and greedy unpatriotic republicans and the most ignorant teabaggers in his district with a minority of us that oppose his every fiber of being and his perfect score from the Heritage Foundation on his voting record.
My crazy lunatic teabagger rep is safe from EVER having to answer for his anti-American actions because the rich are greedy and the ignorant teabaggers are just ignorant and easily fooled. I’d like to see my district take out all the gerrymandering to make this asshat have to be accountable to his constituents instead of just getting a blessing because he has R behind him name.
Bruce
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Think the Repblicans and the T-party Need to follow Lovey Smith led and pake their bags.
RMuse
Dec. 31st, 2012 at 6:28 pm
Maybe not cowardice. The GOP extremists really didn’t want to vote for anything the President would sign. It’s what happens after four years of Boehner, Cantor, Ryan, and McConnell telling their caucus not to go along with anything the President supported. House Republicans just did what they’ve been trained to do…nothing.
Barry Roope
Jan. 1st, 2013 at 12:47 pm
I don’t think the teabaggers in the House of Reps are going to approve of this deal, I think it will fail to pass in the House, The teabaggers are really just a way to be Racist, without wearing hoods or burning crosses, they can vote on anything that will harm America, blame it on the black guy in the White house. Anybody that claims tea-bagger status are the modern day KKK, and they are proud of their hatred for the black guy at the White house, they will probably mess this fiscal cliff deal up, hurt America a little more, hopefully by 2014, America will get rid of the rest of the tea-party racists in the House of Reps, maybe then the country can start to fix our fiscal problems. The teabaggers know the fat lady is singing.
Lynda
Jan. 1st, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Shame that the old tar and feather thing is not done. There are a number of ReTHUGliCLOWNS who well deserve such a fate following their selling their country down the river.
And shame on you President Obama for not standing firm on $250,000.00 after all you told people to get their votes. Just how much does a person need to maintain a decent way of life in this country anyhow????