Posted on 01/01/2013 8:36:34 PM PST by GVnana
The Congress that convened two years ago under the war cries of the tea party is slowly coming to an end with a Champagne-less whimper on New Year’s Day 2013.
The House voted late Tuesday evening, in a rare holiday session, to pass a fiscal cliff bill brokered without the involvement of the GOP majority and with far less than half of their votes.
The bill (HR 8) was amended by the Senate in the early morning hours on an 89-8 vote, carrying language crafted over the holiday weekend by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The 257-167 roll call in the humbled House concluded close to 11 p.m., with 172 Democratic votes and only 85 Republicans, fewer of their own conference than GOP leaders hoped for perhaps, but more than enough to clear the necessary majority to send the legislation to President Barack Obama’s desk.
“Am I having a nightmare, or what?” Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio could be heard saying on the House floor, perhaps in jest. Boehner voted for the measure. Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California and Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam of Illinois all voted against it. Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., who has largely remained quiet during the debate over the last few weeks, voted for the legislation.
AWESOME!!
I don’t play those games. My FICA withholding is going up again, which means less money in my pocket. That’s a tax increase. I don’t care if what preceded it was temporary or not. I can’t afford to look at it as anything but a net-effect on my family’s bottom line.
Still, I could swallow that a lot more easily if the Republican Party hadn’t abandoned the idea of trying to get any sort of spending cut in this bill. Instead, CBO scores it as adding to the deficit.
I know, GOP-E will tell me they’ll REALLY fight hard for cuts in the NEXT argument. Just you wait and see, they’ll say.
Let me just say I’ll believe that when I see it, because I haven’t seen it yet. They talk a good game and when the chips are down, they fold their hand. I’m sick of it.
I’m paying now. My grandchildren will pay when they’re born. The government will downsize ... well, never, if ‘leaders’ like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell still pull the strings of the so-called opposition party in Washington.
The automatic ‘cuts’ once again supports my conclusion that Republicans as a group really don't know what they want, at least not as priorities that could be used to get anything into law esp with a split government.
They don't want ‘to raise taxes’, yet they don't want to pass partial tax cut (extensions) to stop tax increases, and they don't want automatic defense cuts that they themselves passed, but they want deficit reduction.
So given all of those it just settles down to ‘don't pass anything that actually gets into law’ no matter the consequences (those darn low information voters),and that's not a realistic plan, so its really 'don't VOTE for anything that actually gets into law' in practice as we saw the past few weeks.
That is why they will vote against stuff Bohner puts up but none will challenge him as Speaker. You think any of them want demands like that on them?
It would be 1/3 if we controlled both the Senate AND the House.
“They were extended permanently, something Republicans wanted but couldn’t do in the 10 years since they originally passed”
Bingo,
check, check, and checkmate.
Dan Lundren is nearly out already. Defeated in 11/12 by a liberal democrat.
There are a few libs whining that O gave up too much with the debt limit and giving up on the $250K figure with the $450K, but for the most part they are pulling together and calling it a victory for him.
They know they have to stick together to beat Rs on this, and they are watching the R party fighting each other and they are having a big laugh over it. The Dems work together as a team.
If Rs want to beat O they should try WINNING elections.
I stopped reading when you wrote I blamed “all” republicans. That kind of exaggeration doesn’t deserve much.
I completely agree that spending cuts are essential for the sake of future generations. It is immoral to spend the money now which we do not have and leave the debt to our children and grand children.
Now Obama got his tax increases in this FC bill. We know he won and we also know we lost seats in congress in 2012. We know democraps control 2 out of 3 power bases. But GOP still has majority in the House. If they do not fight for spending cuts during the debt limit fight, I will be jumping in the same fox hole as you.
Boehner has shown himself to be an unprincipled, prevaricating POS. He promised to not conduct business like Pelosi did when he took over, yet he holds negotiations about huge public policy issues in private with the wannabe dictator and his minions, just like San Fran Nan. Boner promised not to vote on any bills until they were posted for 72 hours so the people would have a chance to look at them. What happened to that promise? Don’t forget that the whole sequestration situation is a result of Boner’s lousy deal with Obama over the last debt limit. You can be Pollyanna if you want and tell yourself that this deal is not so bad but in real life, this deal sucks for America and Boner got rolled by Obama. Again. What is wrong with standing on principle? I guess that is hard to do when Boner apparently has no principles. I believe that with Boner’s “leadership” the stupid party will manage to take the results of one of the biggest wave elections in history (2010) and do absolutely nothing with the majority before handing the House back to Pelosi in 2014. How much do you want to bet that Boner folds again on the debt limit? I am really concerned that Boner will fold on the upcoming AWB too because that is all the Boner seems to be capable of doing.
“If Rs want to beat O they should try WINNING elections.”
Like that would do any good. The GOP won one of the biggest victories in our history in 2010. What have they managed to do with it? Feckless leadership can screw anything up.
There will be plenty of room, I’m sure. Since we’ll all be digging. Enjoying this crosstalk by the way.
Clearly I don’t see the same advantages to the legislation as you do but I don’t wonder why some people are afraid to being children into the world.
I used to love beating up on Bohner especially when he was minority leader but this latest unneeded fiasco forced on him has made me feel sorry for him,
Tomorrow is judgement day, when no one in the House challenges Bohner as House Speaker.
Its one thing to be in the safe district and vote to oppose extending tax cuts while claiming falsely that you voted against tax increases(because you were told to say that) , its another to step up to a job like Speaker where you are subject to such non-sense and clearly unreasonable demands.
No one, no one in the fwightened wabbit caucus that voted against this bill, voted against stopping our taxes from going up will run as Speaker, no certainly not Cantor.
Their 'no' votes no can be filed with the 33 symbolic O care votes that were also meaningless.
There are a few libs on TV whining about O getting them a bad deal, but for the most part the Dems are sticking together as a team to win, you see ?? that is what they care about. Winning. You know how you actually win these?? You win elections, you get voters on your side, not to HATE you. DUHHHHH
Dems know that. That was their 2012 strategy.
It is hard to win when you break every promise you made and piss your base off at every opportunity like Boner does.
They didnt win the Senate or the WH, they blew those. They lost seats in the house too.
You know what Os strategy is? why he won the election? To play to voters. Not to make them HATE him, to make them side with him.
Punishing 98% of voters with a tax increase just because you lost the past election and cant extend the tax rates for the remaining 2% is a great way to make voters HATE you and shove you out of all power. It had zero chance of success.
Speaking of losing the WH, Dont forget what Rush said, all the polls showing Mitt losing were rigged. Only ‘low information voters’ believed them.
OK, so who in the fwightened wabbit caucus who voted ‘no’ will come out of their hidy holes and run for Speaker? come on who? Its soooo easy just to stop everything right?
I been challenging them for weeks now to run but they are hiding.
These are our brave heroes, the symbolic vote, not me crowd??
Apparently they have not had any luck getting anyone to run as Speaker, wonder why....:)
yes, but they won the House and could have done much more with it, especially at the last debt ceiling talks. Boehner never used the leverage he had and the rats know that he never will. On this matter, I think he should have just sent the house home for the holidays as scheduled and taken this up next week. I don’t understand the crisis as nobody would actually pay the higher taxes until next year. If the Republicans are now into class warfare and punishing the successful, what does that say about them? What good are they? Frankly, I would like to see taxes go up on the people who do not pay anything now. It is not like they will vote Republican anyways. To quote Obama, “everybody should have some skin in the game”. Those folks will continue to vote for candidates who promise to raise taxes on the “rich” as long as they pay nothing and get free stuff.
So, you are happy with Boehner and how this came out?
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