The Boehner/Cantor/Tea Party Fiscall Cliff #EpicFail

What a dumb ass.

Roughly 24 hours after publicly pledging that the House would pass a bill that would extend the current tax rates for all but those earning $1 million or more, Speaker John Boehner was forced to admit defeat — putting out a statement explaining that the legislation lacked the requisite support to bring it up for a vote on the floor.

To be clear: This was a gambit by Boehner designed to be a show of force to President Obama. This was Boehner putting himself out on a limb in hopes wavering members would follow him. This vote mattered to Boehner.

And he lost it.

It’s not clear what the fallout within the chamber will be — there is no obvious challenger to Boehner as Speaker but one could, of course, appear in the wake of this moment — but here’s what we now know:


1. Any bargaining power Boehner had with Obama — or hoped to have — is gone. The goal of passing “Plan B” was to be able to say to the president and Senate Democrats that House Republicans were the only people who had passed something that would avert the fiscal cliff. Now, not so much. Obama already had the upper hand in these negotiations — he was reelected just over a month ago — and Boehner knew it. What happened on the House floor Thursday night made a bad bargaining situation for Boehner that much worse.


2. The Republican party is in a bad place. Boehner is, ostensibly, the leader of the GOP right now since he is the Republican foil to the President. When that leader can’t rally a majority of votes in a chamber his party controls for a proposal he has made clear is personally and politically important to him, it suggests one thing: no one is at the controls. It’s also the latest indicator that the party is deeply divided between establishment types like Boehner who are trying to find the best deal possible and the base of the party who isn’t interested in making those sorts of compromises.


3. Boehner has lost control of the narrative. The next few days will be filled with stories about how this happened and what it means for Boehner. There are – and will be more — quotes from conservative types questioning why he even sought to bring the bill to a vote. There will be those privately — and maybe publicly — raising concerns about his political relevance. Boehner has been around the political block before and knows all of this is coming. And, if a deal gets reached at some point between now and Dec. 31, he will likely (and smartly) declare victory and try to move on. But the next 10 days (at least) are going to be very rough for him — and on Republicans more broadly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ses-on-plan-b/

It's a good thing he's in the House now, I'd hate to see what the fluster cluck would be if he ran his bidness that way. Of course, he may have inherited whatever his biz was, I don't give a rat's ass enough one way or the other to look it up but I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't "build it." LOL!

Boehner made a very public bet that he was the one holding a winning hand. When he laid his cards on the table for the entire country to see, he quickly found out Obama's hand was much stronger! Duh!

Bottom line: Boehner was recently re-elected by a single US Congressional District while Obama was recently re-elected by the entire country! Six weeks following a highly partisan national election, who do you think will have a stronger hand? 1 of 435 or 1 of 1? Duh x 2!

Boehner now has a huge political problem. The Republican House Caucus is deeply fragmented! The Repubs can conceivably pull it all together over a two year period. But it remains to be seen whether they can do so with Boehner as their Speaker.

I suspect that Boehner is now damaged goods. Perhaps seriously damaged!

If the dumbass GOP won't make a deal, all taxes go up and there are huge military cuts.

That is exactly WTF I want to happen.

I hope they do not reach a deal!

Go Speaker Boehner, keep doing WTF you're doing!

If the dumbass GOP won't make a deal, all taxes go up and there are huge military cuts.

That is exactly WTF I want to happen.

I hope they do not reach a deal!

Go Speaker Boehner, keep doing WTF you're doing! Originally Posted by WTF

LOL! When this deal creating the "fiscal cliff" was struck and passed, those who did it never in a million years thought that it would be allowed to happen. Hmmmm, that's what they get for thinking. Sounds to me that they might have outsmarted themselves. I almost agree with you on this, WTF, except for the slowness of the current recovery.

LOL! When this deal creating the "fiscal cliff" was struck and passed, those who did it never in a million years thought that it would be allowed to happen. Hmmmm, that's what they get for thinking. Sounds to me that they might have outsmarted themselves. I almost agree with you on this, WTF, except for the slowness of the current recovery. Originally Posted by Randy4Candy

outsmarted ?


thats a mental impossibility

Boehner NEVER had control over the narrative; he was negotiating with himself !

He/and GOP leadership are fools.

Boehner NEVER had control over the narrative; he was negotiating with himself !

He/and GOP leadership are fools. Originally Posted by Whirlaway

youre suggesting, the GOP is history ... you fail to suggest where the Tea Party or the Libertarans will find a candidate .. FYI, that candidate hasnt been born yet

I can't wait for all of our GOPundits here in the Shitbox to blame Obama and the Democrats for the failures of Congress.

In fact, I'm waiting for a "yeah, we knew Boehner and McConnell were idiots all along but at least they weren't Kenyan Marxists..." thread.

You're talking about something that was voted on when the democrats controlled both houses and the white house and blaming the GOP??? Have I mentioned lately that you are idiots? What a bunch of sheep! Student loan bubble-voted on in 2007 by democrats in house and senate, extension of Bush tax cuts (leading to the fiscal cliff) voted on by democrats in the house and senate,signed by Obama, the debt committee stacked with democrats appointed by Obama. I bet you would still believe the Nazis if they told you the country was being destroyed by the Jews rather than allied bombs.

Do really not understand that spending has to stop! Forget taxing people away from their money, there is not enough money or people to tax. The spending has to stop. Obama says otherwise. What do you really believe?

I am not sure that the failure was a bad thing. Two things were clear from this. First is the democrats made it clear they were uninterested in compromise. It is their way or no way. The second is that there are enough republicans that see the massive fiscal crisis coming and will not go along with political games.

The debt ceiling is coming soon. It will be interesting to see what happens then. I hope the fiscally conservative congressmen have the balls to say no then also.

I am not sure that the failure was a bad thing. Two things were clear from this. First is the democrats made it clear they were uninterested in compromise. It is their way or no way. The second is that there are enough republicans that see the massive fiscal crisis coming and will not go along with political games.

The debt ceiling is coming soon. It will be interesting to see what happens then. I hope the fiscally conservative congressmen have the balls to say no then also. Originally Posted by Laz

in the last two days Bohener and Obama have come within a whisker of compromise ... you need to pay closer attention

I can't wait for all of our GOPundits here in the Shitbox to blame Obama and the Democrats for the failures of Congress.

In fact, I'm waiting for a "yeah, we knew Boehner and McConnell were idiots all along but at least they weren't Kenyan Marxists..." thread. Originally Posted by Yssup Rider

You're talking about something that was voted on when the democrats controlled both houses and the white house and blaming the GOP??? Have I mentioned lately that you are idiots? What a bunch of sheep! Student loan bubble-voted on in 2007 by democrats in house and senate, extension of Bush tax cuts (leading to the fiscal cliff) voted on by democrats in the house and senate,signed by Obama, the debt committee stacked with democrats appointed by Obama. I bet you would still believe the Nazis if they told you the country was being destroyed by the Jews rather than allied bombs.

Do really not understand that spending has to stop! Forget taxing people away from their money, there is not enough money or people to tax. The spending has to stop. Obama says otherwise. What do you really believe? Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

Didn't take long. LOL

Bottom line: Boehner was recently re-elected by a single US Congressional District while Obama was recently re-elected by the entire country! Originally Posted by bigtex

Obama was elected with slightly over 50% of the popular vote. That would mean that almost half the country did NOT want him. He should not think he has this huge mandate.

Obama was elected with slightly over 50% of the popular vote. That would mean that almost half the country did NOT want him. He should not think he has this huge mandate. Originally Posted by Laz

A majority of the country want's the rich to be taxed at a higher rate, even the ones who didn't vote for Obama.

He has a mandate, and he has the upper hand too, thanks to Boehner and the GOP clown show.