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Published Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 | 5:30 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 | 6:30 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Confronted with a revolt among the rank and file, House Republicans abruptly scrapped a vote Thursday night on legislation allowing tax rates to rise for households earning $1 million and up, complicating attempts to avoid a year-end "fiscal cliff" that threatens to send the economy into recession. In a brief statement, Speaker John Boehner conceded the bill "did not have sufficient support from our members to pass." At the same time he challenged President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to work on legislation to avoid across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts due to ...
The TeaPublicans are going to ensure their party fades in oblivion. If Boehner can't get his own party to agree to a plan, he might as well resign.
The drama-queens roll on.
If we are playing chess, Obama just said:
Check Mate
From TownHall.com
"No action in the House until after Christmas, I'm told. A win for the GOP right flank, but even more so for Democrats. Why? Boehner and Cantor just got embarrassed by their own rank-and-file. They couldn't afford to lose any more than 24 defectors, and apparently that number was going to upwards of 35. Boehner held a last-ditch caucus meeting tonight to make a desperate pitch; no sale. So rather than vote and lose -- the ultimate black eye -- Boehner pulled the bill...
...Let's face it: the Republican Party is in utter disarray at the moment. "Let it burn" adherents may get their wish after all, and John Boehner may have to contend with a leadership insurrection within his own ranks. Meanwhile, the cliff awaits. Tick tock, guys. Anyone have a plan that is better than Boehner's and would put conservatives in a stronger position both strategically and substantively? Wishful thinking doesn't count."
Merry Christmas America. Better days are ahead.
If they are going to carry it this far and haven't solved the issue yet then I see no way the cliff can be averted unless one side does an about face. If you're holding to your guns this long then nothing should change that.
Boehner can't even get his own party together on HIS plan. That says a lot. The republicans will again get another black eye as 401K's and IRA's take a big hit.
And the beat goes on!
Elected leaders living the life of Riley and bickering like children playing marbles " Bonehead Boehner thinks he is more powerful than the President and just got his Willy stomped on!
Maybe we should select Congress as we select citizens for jury duty? Maybe, and just maybe, we can get something accomplished?
This isn't funny anymore and might explain why firearms are flying off the shelves!!!!!!!!
Wow... just Wow!!! The "sane" Republicans, yes there are a lot of them, have got to get control of the party. The Tea-baggers are using this to attempt to show their "in-charge".
This minority CAN NOT be allowed to exert this veto "power"... how embarrassing for the Speaker! He threw down the gauntlet on the President the other day and now has major egg on his face.
Hilarious to watch Sean Hannity tonight spin this as a "win" for the conservative movement. The Republicans are making themselves irrelevant, while they think they're running the show.
The awful truth, however, is that we're all paying the price while this obsolete party crashes and burns!
No! No! No Compromise! We TeaPublicans said NO to that guy obama his first four years of office and we WILL say NO his second four years! We TeaPublicans WILL take back America in 2014 and 2016".THEN you WILL see America move forward! Merry Christmas obama, hope you enjoy your lump of coal! Bahahahaha!
If I remember you were saying Romney would be president in 2013. Lotta credibility you have there with more predictions.
America cannot spend and borrow this kind of money without taxes going up. By voting no on the Speakers plan Republicans are doing the right thing, making government pay for the spending and programs. The problem is President Obama is laughing all the way to the next election. He will get the taxes he wanted with no program cuts and the chump Republicans will get the blame. So much for doing the right thing. No good deed goes unpunished...
The GOP is digging themselves a hole so deep that they'll be lucky if they win another election in the next 25 years.
And plan B stinks to high heaven.
YES, the crazy teabaggers destroyed the republican
party.
Thank God.
Tea party is out dated and destructive to the Future of this country.. They don't understand compromise and how to get things done in a Representative government where the represented have voted and chosen their path! They represent a dictatorship that imposes its will on the people with the idea that they know what is best for the country regardless of the votes of the citizens. Does that sound familiar in any way?
Its time to vote out every republican that signed the anti tax pledge and has not renounced it and all the tea party candidates... Seriously! what have they done for this country besides reduce our credit rating one notch and point this country toward the financial cliff over and over and now are doing the same thing again? They can do more damage to this countries economy than terrorists attacking us!
We now have a political party that is being extorted by third parties that do not have a vote! I would like the Justice department to look into this! Threatening an elected official whether it is with his job or otherwise is extortion! We have letters from these groups threatening these officials with their jobs from groups that actually do not have a vote.. extorting our elected officials to influence their vote! I believe the MOB used this same tactic! We now have a new right wing MOB exerting undue influence on elected officials to influence their vote.. the RICO statutes cover this activity and should be used against these groups! Does it matter if your name is Grover or Gambini?
The only way we can get back to moving this country forward and creating employment for people is to get the obstructionists out of the way! Let's make that our mid term goal! These people are already being threatened by the far right of their party to be challenged at election with even more radical people.. so lets just replace them with Independents and Democrats and remove the leverage and blackmail that these groups hold over these officials!
It will be amazing how fast bills can be passed and jobs created! Each job represents tax revenue.. also reducing the deficit...it represents spending power that creates demand for businesses and services.. It won't happen as long as these tea party and pledge signing people are holding this country hostage!
I for one am growing tired of being held hostage over and over.. The Republicans have offered only obstruction and privatization of government services.. this was rejected in the last election.. so lets do what we the actual voters need to do and remove these people that are hostages and cannot do what is needed to move us FORWARD! ( and yes that was a pun)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h59mDlBSt...
Schadenfreude. Pure, grade-A schadenfreude.
This is GOP leadership, folks!
Obama needs to roll back his offer now, give Congress until Dec 31 to accept, and if the Republicans don't accept, we go off the fiscal cliff. Negotiations are at an end in my book.
We had dysfunction between parties, dysfunction between the two houses of Congress, and now dysfunction in the Republican party.
Sum total=DYSFUNCTION!
Great benefit for the $812 million per year total costs per member of Congress.
Our taxes for dysfunction. I would start cutting there.
bimmerdude,
What you describe is called fascism without the ultimate power, yet!
Don't forget the economic conditions that brought one of the most famous fascists into power, Hitler. People do stupid things when they are suffering very bad economic times.
It is up to the voters in 2014 to stop their lock step march to full power.
OOPS!
"Tomorrow the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American," Boehner said in a short on-camera statement. "Then the president will have a decision to make. He can call on the Senate Democrats to pass that bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history."
And it wasn't just Boehner... it was tea party darling Eric Cantor: "We're going to have the votes to pass both the permanent tax relief bill as well as the spending reduction bill!"
Or, OOPS!
I think the GOP clown car just went off the cliff.
Bimmerdude, I, for one, enjoyed watching FreedomWorks and Club for Growth throw Grover Norquist under the bus. And then back up over him.
This is a GOP civil war.
So this is what is going to happen:
1) Taxes will go up on about $2k for people that pay income taxes
2) sequestration cuts will kick in (cuts to defense, education, Medicare, and othe governments programs)
3) Unemployment extensions will stop
4) Republicans will refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless Obama agrees to entitlement reform
I agree the GOP has not come 1/2 way, they seem pretty stuck. As I have posted Bill Clinton said in his commerials endorsing Obama things were so much better under him and the mess caused by the Bush tax cuts was so bad, so I say let the fiscal cliff happen, it seems it kills tax cuts and spending without any one getting in the way. Done deal, and we all will be much better off. If it was good for Clinton it will be good for Obama, not sure why he is trying to single out certain income groups, that is not what Clinton did. Everyone all in!
EXPOSED!
After this how can anyone retain the fantasy that the GOP gives a rat's patoot about the middle class, our jobs, or the economy?
Get out your parachutes!
The republican party is a house divided.