Monday's decision by House GOP leaders to drop their insistence that the tax cut extension be paid for by offsetting spending cuts was a sharp turnaround for House Republicans. Top party members previously insisted that a failure to fully pay for the tax break would be financially reckless.
But the debate over whether and how to extend the tax cut has been a political loser so far for the Republicans, who publicly questioned its value last year. Democrats have gleefully highlighted the GOP's reluctance, using the issue to portray Republicans as defenders of the rich who are indifferent to the plight of the middle class.
Political analysts believe the showdown over the payroll holiday has eroded GOP strength on the party's core issue of lower taxes. Fearing negative repercussions, Republican leaders have now backtracked on the issue twice: dropping their opposition to the two-month extension last December and dropping their insistence on paying for a longer extension on Monday.
"December was a debacle," Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, said Wednesday. "We don't want to repeat that."
"I think the GOP has read the writing on the wall when it comes to the payroll tax cut," said Brown University political scientist Wendy Schiller. "Americans are benefiting from it, and to take it away at this juncture leaves them open to charges of raising taxes. ... It would severely hamper the GOP presidential nominee's effort to defeat Obama."
Boehner and other top House GOP leaders tried Monday to separate the payroll tax extension from provisions dealing with unemployment benefits and the doc fix, but quickly backed away from the proposal. Democrats objected loudly to the idea.