Posted on 09/13/2010 9:21:06 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
John Boehner appears to have softened his position on the issue of extending the Bush-era tax cuts. The House Republican leader on Sunday for the first time said he would support extending those reductions for the middle class but not the wealthy, if that was his only choice.
Why is he saying this now? After all, the Bush tax cuts have been an item of contention on Capitol Hill all summer. Until now, Representative Boehner and other GOP lawmakers have been adamant that a tax-cut extension should include everyone.
First of all, Boehner still says he believes a middle-class-only tax-cut policy is a bad idea.
“I don’t think that’s going to help our economy,” said Boehner on “Face the Nation” on CBS on Sunday.
Republicans have long insisted that keeping taxes low on those at the top of America’s income scale is the best way to help the private sector generate new jobs.
That said, why would Boehner vote for a tax approach he still believes to be flawed? Several political theories come to mind.
He's getting ready to be speaker of the House. With many polls showing it likely that the GOP will make big gains this fall, it’s possible that Boehner will become speaker in the next Congress. That’s a very different job than the one he now holds. The speaker has more responsibility for governing the nation – and that means more responsibility for actually getting bills passed.
In a Republican-led House, Democrats would nonetheless constitute a substantial minority, and it’s likely they would fight hard against extending the cuts for the wealthy. By saying now that he is open to compromise, Boehner could be laying the foundation for a quick tax-cut deal over which he could preside.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Ping
ARTICLE SURMISES:
* Boehner expects to be the Speaker of the House ( of course he’s not saying that but he’s giving hints to that effect ).
* Because of this expectation, Boehner wants to appear to be more statesmanlike just by talking about compromises. He could be gradually shifting from a purely oppositional approach to the Obama administration.
In other words, He’s trying to make Republicans the party of “maybe.” instead of the party of “no”.
Rush Limbaugh is opening with this story.
Rush is saying that Boehner completely crossed up the dems on this. The dems expected Boehner to maintain the hard line of tax cuts for everyone and even had commercials they were going to air today with Boehner’s perceived reaction.
Rush seems to be saying that Boehner made the dems blink.
Er....he didn’t?
“When I began entering into the give and take of legislative bargaining in Sacramento, a lot of the most radical conservatives who had supported me during the election didn’t like it. “Compromise” was a dirty word to them and they wouldn’t face the fact that we couldn’t get all of what we wanted today. They wanted all or nothing and they wanted it all at once. If you don’t get it all, some said, don’t take anything. I’d learned while negotiating union contracts that you seldom got everything you asked for. And I agreed with FDR, who said in 1933: ‘I have no expectations of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average.’ If you got seventy-five or eighty percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later, and that’s what I told these radical conservatives who never got used to it.”
Er....he didn’t?
Because class envy still sells big time in this country.
Until now, President Obama and other Democrat lawmakers have been adamant that the tax cuts benefitted only the wealthy.
he’e being groomed as a Judas goat for the obamination....
I’m thinking Rush is right.
Weak as water.
I am not defending him. Republicans need to appoint Ryan as majority but he was compromising.
The country is going to hell and Obama picks a fight with this guy and turned him into his new Bush boogie man of blame.
He shouldn’t compromise but I think when he said he would he was thinking it was better that what we have now=nothing with Obama poser.
Boehner never said that he would drop tax cuts for the Rich.
CBS leads...and fools believe.
Thanks Roos...
He changed his mind the day after the WH announced they were going to focus on him.
Boehner is a perfect example of exactly what is WRONG with politics and politicians.
All he cares about is ability to get re-elected, selected for the Chairmanship, etc...HE COULD CARE LESS about our country.
HE NEEDS TO GO!!!!
I think so too.....it was a bit of strategery by Boehner. IMOH, Boehner sounded very reasonable, while Gibbsy’s reaction this morning sounded very partisan.
Technically, it was a ‘qualified’ change of mind ... or a rope-a-dope move aimed at the WH HOPE’r .
I am still wondering how this will play out. I prefer the NEXT congress handle it.
Boner didnt change his mind
He said if ALL HE GOT was a choice of extending part of the tax cuts or nothing, then he would have to vote to keep them
This was a stupid comment for a seasoned politician to make
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