Here is the point. At this point the Democrats control the House. They bring a bill to the floor continuing the Bush tax cuts for everyone earning less than $250K. The Republicans attempt to amend the bill to include all income levels. They fail. (This isn’t a given — enough Democrats might vote for the amendment for it to carry. But for this case, it fails.)
Now the bill — cutting taxes for some, but not all Americans — reaches the floor of the House for a final vote. The Republicans cannot stop that from happening in the House. (They can in the Senate, but not in the House.) How do you vote? Do you vote for the bill, knowing that it will help some people if it passes? Do you vote against the bill, because it does not extend all Bush tax cuts?
Remember, if you vote against the bill you give the Democrats two things they want very, very badly.
1. You give them a chance to campaign this fall claiming they wanted to cut taxes, but the Republicans voted against it.
2. If the bill fails to pass (and it will if the Republicans fail to support it) you give the government a lot more money to play with in 2011 as taxes get increased by more than they would have otherwise.
Those are two results that Obama would absolutely love.
Boehner gave the smart answer. Because that was the situation which he meant when he said he would support passage of a flawed bill.
Except for the Laffer Curve. That tells us that the higher tax rates will bring in less tax revenue, due to a decline in economic activity.
And by voting “yes” on this bill, you give the Dems a green light to say that even the Republicans favor tax increases. Boehner should have stuck to Conservative principles here.