Randi Rhodes: Boehner Skips Town

The House has gone home for their Christmas break without extending the middle class payroll tax extension. They could have at least been honest about it, and passed a resolution saying “Bah, humbug!” before they left. The House Republicans just screwed over 160 million Americans out of around a thousand dollars a year. I hope they’re nicer to the other people on their Christmas gift list. Make no mistake, the House Republicans are kicking you in the teeth for the sole reason that there is a slight chance you will blame Barack Obama for it.

John Boehner released a letter he sent to the President urging him to order the Senate back from Christmas break to take part in more negotiations. No, John—you caused this fiasco, you fix it. All Boehner has to do is end this thing, but he’s asking President Obama to call the entire Senate back from vacation so that they can all start from scratch! The two-month extension was passed on a non-partisan vote by 89 Senators. No sane person would refuse to pass it. The problem is how few sane persons there are in the House.

Boehner has even appointed House Republican negotiators for a non-existent conference committee with an adjourned Senate. Where is this fantasy conference going to take place, John? Through the Looking Glass? One of Boehner’s House negotiators, Fred Upton of Michigan, says he has already told his wife he won’t be home for Christmas. I hope you didn’t tell her why, Fred, or she’s going to be mighty pissed off. “I can’t come home for Christmas, dear. I have to spend it sitting in a conference room with other Republicans, negotiating with nobody.”

Don’t fret that most of the public will blame Obama for this fiasco. Nobody is as dumb as Republicans think Americans are... not even Republicans. Heck, even the people who are on the side of the Republicans on this tax issue aren’t dumb enough to actually believe them. They just hate Obama enough to pretend to believe them. When it comes to “protecting the middle class,” polls show 50 percent trust Obama versus only 35 percent who trust the Republicans. Maybe that’s because the main thing that the middle class needs to be protected from is the Republicans.

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Republicans cut off the C-Span cameras as Dems try again to get a vote on the payroll tax cut...

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