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Why Tea Party Freshmen Caved on Payroll Tax DealOn The Radar Conservative Tea Party-affiliated lawmakers spent weeks vowing to oppose the short-term compromise bill extending payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance. But in the end, the bill glided through the House, just before Christmas. The final moments of this latest congressional showdown were fascinating not because of what happened but because of what didn't happen. |
Behind the Scenes of the House Republicans' Self-Inflicted WoundOn The Radar There was no formal cease-fire. Speaker John Boehner didn’t even call Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to offer up his payroll-tax sword of surrender. The great Christmas conflict over tax cuts ended at the staff level. Boehner’s chief of staff, Barry Jackson, cut the deal with Reid’s chief of staff, David Krone. If the weeklong tussle over a two-month or one-year extension of payroll taxes was over principle, the principal antagonist, Boehner, in the end, had neither the will nor the stomach to directly sue for peace. |
Lawmakers Reach Deal on Payroll TaxOn The Radar The ice cracked under House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday. A deal to quiet a bruising political eruption over the payroll tax finally took shape -- after relentless criticism from within GOP ranks that House Republicans had dug themselves knee-deep in quicksand. After days of thrashing and teeth-gnashing, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a way out of the mess with a statement underscoring similarities between the measures in the two chambers, rather than differences. |
Obama, Senate Democrats Rally for Benefits ExtensionOn The Radar President Obama and Senate Democrats appealed to House Republicans on Wednesday to return to Washington and approve a two-month extension of benefits for American workers before they expire Dec. 31. The House GOP remains opposed to a short-term patch despite mounting opposition to the strategy, even from within the party. |
Congress's Payroll Standoff - Who Blinks First?On The Radar Less than two weeks remain – with a holiday in between – for Congress to keep alive a payroll-tax cut, unemployment insurance, and a “doc fix” patch. Here is how it could play out. |
Obama Approval Rating Shows Signs of Rebound in Two PollsOn The Radar President Barack Obama’s approval ratings are showing signs of rebounding following some recent positive economic data and after months of aggressively promoting his jobs plan and criticizing his Republican opposition. Forty-nine percent of Americans approve of how Obama is handling his job, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll and another conducted for CNN. |
House Rejects 2-Month Extension of Payroll Tax CutOn The Radar The Republican-controlled House on Tuesday rejected a Senate-approved two-month extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits to millions of Americans, raising the likelihood that both will expire on Dec. 31.The House effectively adjourned for the year following the vote, and with the Senate out of town for the holiday, there is no resolution in sight on a legislative battle waged by House Republicans over the length of the benefits' extension. Both chambers can return to Washington at the call of party leaders if there is an agreement. |
Dems Hope for Campaign Edge on Tax IssueOn The Radar Democrats feel they’re closer than ever in their long-running bid to paint Republicans as being much more eager to cut taxes for the rich than for the working class. But public contempt for Congress is so rampant that the effort may fade away in a pox-on-all-their-houses fog. If that happens, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats could lose a political edge as they head into the 2012 elections with a struggling economy. |
House Speaker Foresees Extension of Payroll Tax CutsOn The Radar House Speaker John Boehner told USA TODAY on Monday that he was optimistic that payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits would be extended — despite a congressional stalemate that could result in millions of Americans losing both in the new year. |
Christian Group Struggles over Gingrich EndorsementOn The Radar Newt Gingrich's marital problems have come back to haunt him in Iowa where Christian conservatives are split over whether they can look beyond his past infidelities and endorse him for the January 3 caucuses. The Family Leader, one of the state's most influential evangelical groups, is in intense debate about whether to back Gingrich, a front-runner in the contest to choose the Republican to face Democratic President Barack Obama in November. |
