Boehner reverses his position from Sat to Sun and rejects 2mos payroll tax extension

[senseamp]

It is not really nonsense. Obama was refusing to be a leader by refusing to make a decision. This simply says he has to step up and do his job.


Had the Senate not gone on vacation, I would say both Boehner and Obama are right in that a year long one is needed. Since they did, both Boehner and Obama are wrong.

That is your opinion. My opinion is that it's a bunch of nonsense in a payroll tax extension bill. But either way, it's in the 2 month bill.
The Senate did its job, they compromised and voted 90% for the bill, which from this Senate is an absolutely stunning number. I don't think they can get that many votes if they were asked to vote to continue breathing. If GOP wants to give the middle class an $2K tax hike for Xmas, they can do so tomorrow, but be ready to pay the political price.

 

[cybrsage]

The Senate did its job, they compromised and voted 90% for the bill, which from this Senate is an absolutely stunning number. I don't think they can get that many votes if they were asked to vote to continue breathing. If GOP wants to give the middle class an $2K tax hike for Xmas, they can do so tomorrow, but be ready to pay the political price.

I agree, they should pass it. I like this guy's quote:

"The only things that get 90% support in the United States Senate these days are mom, apple pie, and chocolate ice cream, so I really think it is very unlikely that the House would disrupt this compromise," Sperling told CNN Political Correspondent Joe Johns.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Yeah, Obama wants this to be ideally extended for another year but the 2 month compromise is the best the Senate could do so Boehner accepting and then rejecting it shows again the extreme fringe of his base dictating a common sense tax cut for Americans. Political theater that will benefits Dems in the end and continuing to (successfully) paint Repubs as fighting for tax cuts...for the wealthy.

Why is it the best.

They have known that this was coming and continued to bury their heads in the sand. Now at the last moment; they come up with a weak solutions and state that this is the best the elite 100 qualified thinkers can come up with.

They just did not want to continue to be held up to the light for ducking their responsibilities.

 

[EagleKeeper]

The Onus is on Boehner to find a way to pay for the full year extension, if that's what he wants to push for.

It was presented to the Senate.

Reid refused to present it to the chamber for a vote.

 

[EagleKeeper]

That is your opinion. My opinion is that it's a bunch of nonsense in a payroll tax extension bill. But either way, it's in the 2 month bill.
The Senate did its job, they compromised and voted 90% for the bill, which from this Senate is an absolutely stunning number. I don't think they can get that many votes if they were asked to vote to continue breathing. If GOP wants to give the middle class an $2K tax hike for Xmas, they can do so tomorrow, but be ready to pay the political price.

The 2K is across a years time frame.

The senate can come back and fix the issue. They kicked it for two months knowing that it had to be addressed; they can chase it for two months and make it retroactive if desired.

It is not like they have a lot of critical pending legislation piled up that can not wait.

 

[dmcowen674]

Boehner reverses his position from Sat to Sun and rejects 2mos payroll tax extensionhttp://www.cnn.com/2011/12/18/politics/congress-payroll-tax-cut-2/index.html?hpt=hp_bn3

Keep voting Republican assholes

 

[senseamp]

The 2K is across a years time frame.

The senate can come back and fix the issue. They kicked it for two months knowing that it had to be addressed; they can chase it for two months and make it retroactive if desired.

It is not like they have a lot of critical pending legislation piled up that can not wait.

This is disruptive to businesses and the middle class to have the payroll taxes hiked while Boehner fiddles his thumbs. He should pass the two month extension now and negotiate on the full year extension in those two months, not put businesses through the expense of adjusting withholding tables and processing retroactive refunds, and not put consumers through uncertainty of how much take home pay they will have.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Keep voting Republican assholes

at least you know who is not patting your back while reaching for your wallet!

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Sorry but putting a gun to the administrations head to try a force through an environmentally unfriendly pet project for the oil companies without proper review by attaching it to a totally unrelated payroll tax bill is horseshit politics of the worst degree. As Obama had already warned congress he wouldn't sign the HOR bill with the pipeline included Reids response was appropriate. But I don't expect you to see through your blind partisanship to see that.

Reid and 90 Senators agreed to put a gun to the administration's head. Those bastards!

I think this is really more about how the bill will be funded. Reid chose not the let the House bill go to a Senate vote knowing full well that it would have passed and all this crap would now be over and left to our President to decide. But no...he didn't like the way the bill was funded...instead Reid drafted the extension with his funding preferences and then effectively put the gun the House's head giving them the blame if they don't pass the bill.

If the House passes it (and they probably will as they were left with little choice), then Obama will likely sign the bill knowing that his precious $20B for Obamacare doesn't get touched. It's just too bad he can't further delay this important decision on this already long-delayed pipeline project until after the elections as he planned...it's really quite sad. Some might call that horseshit politics also...no?

Here we have a $20B privately funded, jobs-creating infrastructure project, that would positively impact our economic, energy and national security needs...I think Obama is wrong to threaten veto over this issue and a lot of Democrats think so as well.

 

[wirelessenabled]

.........

Here we have a $20B privately funded, jobs-creating infrastructure project, that would positively impact our economic, energy and national security needs...Obama is wrong to threaten veto over this issue and a lot of Democrats think so too.

FactCheck The Keystone pipeline is about a $7 billion project

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...id-to-be-weighed-by-u-s-state-department.html

The pipeline is opposed in it's current form by such ardent environmentalists as:

David Eugene "Dave" Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is the 39th and current Governor of Nebraska. He is a member of the Republican Party, and the current Chairman of the National Governors Association.

You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.

 

[EagleKeeper]

This is disruptive to businesses and the middle class to have the payroll taxes hiked while Boehner fiddles his thumbs. He should pass the two month extension now and negotiate on the full year extension in those two months, not put businesses through the expense of adjusting withholding tables and processing retroactive refunds, and not put consumers through uncertainty of how much take home pay they will have.

the uncertainty of having to worry about papperwork by business every two months is even worse.

There should be no retroactive by an employer. If the Feds want to send out a $25 check to a workers; then let them. The 2% was to be a temp measure anyhow; not a full time change.

 

[EagleKeeper]

FactCheck The Keystone pipeline is about a $7 billion project

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...id-to-be-weighed-by-u-s-state-department.html

The pipeline is opposed in it's current form by such ardent environmentalists as:

David Eugene "Dave" Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is the 39th and current Governor of Nebraska. He is a member of the Republican Party, and the current Chairman of the National Governors Association.

You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.

The sponsors of the pipeline have also been working with the opponents to come up with a more appealing route; moving it outside the sensitive areas

 

[senseamp]

the uncertainty of having to worry about papperwork by business every two months is even worse.

There should be no retroactive by an employer. If the Feds want to send out a $25 check to a workers; then let them. The 2% was to be a temp measure anyhow; not a full time change.

If that's the record that GOP wants to run on next year, they are free to push for it, I suppose.

 

[EagleKeeper]

All the GOP has to do is show that there was a years work of tax reductions presented to the Senate and the Democratic leadership refused to bring it up for a vote.

People are not going to want to hear about a tax on their homes for 30 years to support a 60 day payoff.

And if the system gets its act together, this will be a footnote only.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

FactCheck The Keystone pipeline is about a $7 billion project

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...id-to-be-weighed-by-u-s-state-department.html

The pipeline is opposed in it's current form by such ardent environmentalists as:

David Eugene "Dave" Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is the 39th and current Governor of Nebraska. He is a member of the Republican Party, and the current Chairman of the National Governors Association.

You are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.

http://www.heritage.org/research/re...xl-pipeline-delay-obstructs-energy-jobs#_edn5
"Recognizing the need for more energy supply and more jobs, both Democrats and Republicans expressed support for the Keystone XL pipeline, a $20 billion private-infrastructure investment in the United States. The states through which the pipeline would pass—Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas—would benefit greatly. The six states are collectively projected to receive $5.2 billion in property taxes from TransCanada in the course of the 100-year operating life of the pipeline.[5]"

 

[senseamp]

All the GOP has to do is show that there was a years work of tax reductions presented to the Senate and the Democratic leadership refused to bring it up for a vote.

People are not going to want to hear about a tax on their homes for 30 years to support a 60 day payoff.

And if the system gets its act together, this will be a footnote only.

Good luck with that argument. GOP is about to vote to raise taxes on the middle class. That is going to make for some great ads. Senate voted to extend the lower rates, House is about to vote to block it.

 

[werepossum]

It appears Boehner is agreeing with Obama:



I agree with them both that it should be long term. But since that could not be done in time, a short term item is better than no item. Also, I think this guy nails it:



Boehner would be stupid to do what Obama wants in this case.

I agree completely with your first two statements, but not the last. Assuming that both Boehner and Obama believe this should be extended for a year and that two months was the most they could get past Reid, he should take the two months. And while it's tempting to believe that Obama doesn't want it extended, it's Obama's initiative; we should take him at his word that he wants it extended for a year. If Boehner then fails to accept the two month extension, it becomes harder to believe Boehner really wants it. Bottom line, it would be dumb for Obama to veto two months because it's not a year, and it would be equally dumb for Boehner to not support it and vote on it.

 

[highland145]

I agree completely with your first two statements, but not the last. Assuming that both Boehner and Obama believe this should be extended for a year and that two months was the most they could get past Reid, he should take the two months. And while it's tempting to believe that Obama doesn't want it extended, it's Obama's initiative; we should take him at his word that he wants it extended for a year. If Boehner then fails to accept the two month extension, it becomes harder to believe Boehner really wants it. Bottom line, it would be dumb for Obama to veto two months because it's not a year, and it would be equally dumb for Boehner to not support it and vote on it.

Even taking into account the fannie/freddie permanent fee?

 

[werepossum]

The sponsors of the pipeline have also been working with the opponents to come up with a more appealing route; moving it outside the sensitive areas

Assuming that the opponents have honestly objections, working with them to avoid the most environmentally sensitive areas is a good thing. The very cheapest way to do a thing is seldom the best.

 

[werepossum]

Even taking into account the fannie/freddie permanent fee?

I think so. Nothing is really permanent in D.C., and I suspect that a change like this, making the GSEs less competitive in the mortgage market, will not long stand. But in any case, the Pubbies have insisted that this be paid for without raising taxes and I suspect this is as close as they can get with the Democrat Senate and Obama. Neither party has any inherent right to get everything it wants.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

It's pretty jarring how people seem to think it is acceptable for Republicans to tack on the Keystone pipeline to this payroll extension. The two are not linked in any way, shape, or form whatsoever.

If the Keystone pipeline is such a no-brainer as Republicans claim, then let Congress debate over it separately so that the American public can watch as well. Don't rush it into a last minute Congress session under everyone's noses.

That's bad politics, bad policy, and simply bad governance.

 

[werepossum]

It's pretty jarring how people seem to think it is acceptable for Republicans to tack on the Keystone pipeline to this payroll extension. The two are not linked in any way, shape, or form whatsoever.

If the Keystone pipeline is such a no-brainer as Republicans claim, then let Congress debate over it separately so that the American public can watch as well. Don't rush it into a last minute Congress session under everyone's noses.

That's bad politics, bad policy, and simply bad governance.

You're aware that this is only necessary because Obama refused to make any decision, effectively killing the pipeline without taking the political heat for doing so, correct? I'm willing to bet you found that to be amazingly good politics, good policy, and good governance.

You'll have to be far more clever to convince people that your partisanship is principle.

 

[Ausm]

You're aware that this is only necessary because Obama refused to make any decision, effectively killing the pipeline without taking the political heat for doing so, correct? I'm willing to bet you found that to be amazingly good politics, good policy, and good governance.

You'll have to be far more clever to convince people that your partisanship is principle.

I take it you like President Obama?

 

[piasabird]

This stupid break in taxes is based on Social Security, and I dont pay any social security tax. So I get nothing out of this stupid tax break. So cry me a river.

 

[senseamp]

This stupid break in taxes is based on Social Security, and I dont pay any social security tax. So I get nothing out of this stupid tax break. So cry me a river.

Yes, it's all about you.