.Without Tea Party Votes, Boehner Speakership Hits Rough Waters
Just as the Washington narrative had started to shift a bit from "House Speaker John Boehner doesn't have the juice to get his conference to support him" to "Boehner is getting his fellow Republicans to rally around him" it shifts back to the former.
That's because he was unable to get enough members of the Republican conference to commit to voting for his debt-ceiling increase.
It should go without saying, this is a signal setback for the speaker, who in recent days had pleaded, cajoled and demanded that his conference get behind him if, for no other reason, to show solidarity as he confronts the Democrats who control the Senate and the White House.
Aides in the speaker's office are telling reporters that they still expect a vote Thursday night. But that doesn't minimize the fact that after raising expectations for a vote that was seen as a test of his persuasive powers as speaker, Boehner was forced to order a strategic retreat.
The message many analysts are bound to take away from this episode is that the tail is wagging the dog to a degree a large degree in the House Republican conference, namely members linked to the Tea Party, including freshmen.
Those members have little allegiance to Boehner. In fact, many of them eye him suspiciously as a card-carrying member of the Washington establishment that's part of the problem, not the solution.
They felt burned by the budget deal Boehner negotiated with President Obama earlier this year to prevent the government shutdown in March, that Boehner told them there were more spending cuts in that package than there actually were.
They vowed they wouldn't be fooled again and that was reflected, in part, in Boehner's failure to get enough votes for his debt-ceiling bill by the time of the scheduled vote, 6 pm eastern time Thursday.
It should be said that not all House Republicans with Tea Party connections were against Boehner. Some held a news conference for his bill Thursday. Unfortunately for Boehner, not enough supported him.
So the question is, now what? Again, the speaker's office may be able to take another stab at a floor vote Thursday evening if leaders can find the votes they need.
But if they come up short, that leaves no clear path in Congress to solving the debt-ceiling crisis.
Sen. Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader, had hoped that if the House passed the Boehner legislation and sent it to the Senate, he could use it as a vehicle to move his alternative proposal. That can't happen if Boehner can't get the bill out of the House.
The key difference between Reid's plan and Boehner's is that the senator would raise the debt ceiling enough so that the next debt ceiling vote wouldn't take place until after the 2012 election.
Boehner's proposal calls for two votes, one immediately, another in six months, pushing it into the general election season. That is unacceptable to Democrats who say it would just extend economic and financial uncertainty into next year, definitely no help to an economy in a slow-motion recovery.
Reid's legislation is unlikely to get the 60 votes it would need to proceed to a Senate floor vote.
Which leaves us exactly where we've been, except with even less time before a possible U.S. default — stalemate.
And it leaves Boehner appearing weakened, the incredible shrinking speaker. His speakership appears to have hit the Tea Party iceberg and is taking on water.
NPR
They are planning to overspend by 10 trillion in the next ten years, and we are the crazies.
Call anyone and everyone but don't let them raise that limit one cent. Tell them NOT ONE MORE CENT
That's because he was unable to get enough members of the Republican conference to commit to voting for his debt-ceiling increase.
It should go without saying, this is a signal setback for the speaker, who in recent days had pleaded, cajoled and demanded that his conference get behind him if, for no other reason, to show solidarity as he confronts the Democrats who control the Senate and the White House.
Aides in the speaker's office are telling reporters that they still expect a vote Thursday night. But that doesn't minimize the fact that after raising expectations for a vote that was seen as a test of his persuasive powers as speaker, Boehner was forced to order a strategic retreat.
The message many analysts are bound to take away from this episode is that the tail is wagging the dog to a degree a large degree in the House Republican conference, namely members linked to the Tea Party, including freshmen.
Those members have little allegiance to Boehner. In fact, many of them eye him suspiciously as a card-carrying member of the Washington establishment that's part of the problem, not the solution.
They felt burned by the budget deal Boehner negotiated with President Obama earlier this year to prevent the government shutdown in March, that Boehner told them there were more spending cuts in that package than there actually were.
They vowed they wouldn't be fooled again and that was reflected, in part, in Boehner's failure to get enough votes for his debt-ceiling bill by the time of the scheduled vote, 6 pm eastern time Thursday.
It should be said that not all House Republicans with Tea Party connections were against Boehner. Some held a news conference for his bill Thursday. Unfortunately for Boehner, not enough supported him.
So the question is, now what? Again, the speaker's office may be able to take another stab at a floor vote Thursday evening if leaders can find the votes they need.
But if they come up short, that leaves no clear path in Congress to solving the debt-ceiling crisis.
Sen. Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader, had hoped that if the House passed the Boehner legislation and sent it to the Senate, he could use it as a vehicle to move his alternative proposal. That can't happen if Boehner can't get the bill out of the House.
The key difference between Reid's plan and Boehner's is that the senator would raise the debt ceiling enough so that the next debt ceiling vote wouldn't take place until after the 2012 election.
Boehner's proposal calls for two votes, one immediately, another in six months, pushing it into the general election season. That is unacceptable to Democrats who say it would just extend economic and financial uncertainty into next year, definitely no help to an economy in a slow-motion recovery.
Reid's legislation is unlikely to get the 60 votes it would need to proceed to a Senate floor vote.
Which leaves us exactly where we've been, except with even less time before a possible U.S. default — stalemate.
And it leaves Boehner appearing weakened, the incredible shrinking speaker. His speakership appears to have hit the Tea Party iceberg and is taking on water.
NPR
They are planning to overspend by 10 trillion in the next ten years, and we are the crazies.
Call anyone and everyone but don't let them raise that limit one cent. Tell them NOT ONE MORE CENT
posted by madtom at 9:04 PM
9 Comments:
I'd be with you except we are paying what was already requested at the end of the month. That isn't the principled way to balance the budget. Cancel contracts, close agencies, fire workers, but pay what is owed today for work done and stop all work, contracts and programs which cannot be paid with expecte4d revenues in the future.
Sure if you were dealing with regular people. But your not, your dealing with a crack and meth addicts, addicted to spending. The GOP plan is just as bad as the Dem's plan, there is no plan, just more and more. Where do you hold the line. Just keep feeding the addict drugs and hope for the best?
Do you realize that all the stimulus and bailouts are now baseline, that 26% of GDP is now the norm, that when they talk about cutting a few trillion they mean a few trillion out of that 26% of GDP.....
I almost forgot, did you know that the federal gov. has doubled in size since the year 2001? What can we expect in the next 12 years?
Yeah, I know all that. But we should pay for goods and services already provided. If someone has a paycheck coming we should pay them along with a pink slip. After that, I wouldn't raise the limit one dime. Shut down all but vital services at the first of the month and figure out what we can afford with current revenues---everything else is gone forever or we decide it's worth paying for. Maybe the way to pay the bills for this month would be to sell gold instead of raising the debt limit....
furlough half the federal work force, start with all the lawyers and work you way down.
End the war on drugs defund the DEA and release all none violent offenders.
"After that"
And you need a trillion $$ for that?
Bull shit.
"After that"
And you need a trillion $$ for that?
Bull shit.
If that was all, we could print our way, of deflate our way out of for a few months. But that's just lie your telling yourself, like all addicts, one more to get throw the night and I will stop tomorrow.
Post a Comment
<< Home