But if compromise is impossible, if the bills are looking bad, then the Republicans should "abstain" and allow bad bills to pass with nothing but Democrats voting Yes. That way the Left cannot point to bad law and say, "Hey, you guys voted for it too."
We're not helping the country when we lose elections. Maybe we should work toward helping the country understand that the Democrats -- and only the Democrats -- are taking us to a bad place.
Yep, they should just vote “Present”.
I agree. Excellent idea.They need to quit allowing the dems to demonize them.
Let the dems own their folly.
I agree with most of what you are saying. They should still stand for Constitutional principles and make their points known, but if the population wants higher taxes, etc. abstain or vote present and let the Democrats alone vote to give America the final shove over the cliff.
America wanted the disaster that Obama calls for, so I say, let them have it, while at the same time hanging the ownership of the disaster fully on the neck of Obama and his followers.
But if compromise is impossible, if the bills are looking bad, then the Republicans should "abstain" and allow bad bills to pass with nothing but Democrats voting Yes. That way the Left cannot point to bad law and say, "Hey, you guys voted for it too."
We're not helping the country when we lose elections. Maybe we should work toward helping the country understand that the Democrats -- and only the Democrats -- are taking us to a bad place.
What you say makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, for Democrats, compromise means "you Republicans just go along with whatever we propose, and if you don't then you are obstructing." Would abstaining be propagandized as obstructing? Good question. I think it was tried in the first 2 years when Pelosi was Speaker.
I don't think Boehner's up for the job. I would love to see Paul Ryan challenge him for Speakership in the next Congress.
I agree that Republicans should make a very visible good faith effort. But Boehner should also announce a very firm “no backroom deals” position, not only on the fiscal cliff but also on all future budgets. The House should pass its proposal and then demand that the Senate do the same, and then go to conference. Regular order. The default position would be a continuing resolution at last year’s levels, with not a penny more, along with defunding of a couple of targets of opportunity to add some heat. If the dems shut down the government, so be it. We have to tough it out, keep emphasizing that the House has passed a budget, and demand that the Senate does its job.