House conservatives chose irrelevance
What happens now is anyone’s guess. Boehner said last night, and will reportedly say again at a 10:00 am press conference this morning, that it is up to President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to pass their own fiscal cliff solution. The Boehner-Obama negotiations appear to be over. There will be no grand bargain.
The more likely scenarios are that we either go over the fiscal cliff, or Boehner agrees to vote on a Senate bill which extends the current tax rates for everyone making under $250,000. Either way, by choosing to abandon their leader in the middle of high stakes negotiations, House conservatives have assured that whatever final deal does get done, whether its before or after January 1st, it will have to be passed with a majority of Democratic votes. By refusing to compromise at all, House conservatives have completely marginalized themselves, making them effectively irrelevant, not just for the fiscal cliff negotiations, but for at least the next two years as well.
Blowback
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Yes I suspect that a lot of RINOS will go full bore attack on the people who recognize we aren’t in a revenue crisis …
WE ARE IN A SPENDING CRISIS.
HondaV65 on December 21, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Yup, and no one, with the exception of a might few like Rand Paul, will admit that neither Obama’$ or Boehners plan will actually cut any spending. The “cuts” are nothing but slight reductions in mandatory increases in spending. The revenue that the government will get off of the tax increases for thr $250K and above will fund the govt for about 10 days.
It’s a fraud.
MoreLiberty on December 21, 2012 at 2:30 PM
We’re not going over a cliff. We’re on a highway to bankruptcy, pedal to the metal. And both Democrats and Republicans aren’t doing a damned thing to slow down or turn around.
The Rogue Tomato on December 21, 2012 at 2:33 PM
Boy, the RINOS go full tilt when conservatives say, “No”. Time to form a new party.
Panther on December 21, 2012 at 2:33 PM
It is the spending. Always has been, always will be. When you cede your principles to the narrative that Conservatism is the reason the country is in default, then you let the left re-write history with your own words and actions.
If we don’t choose a hill to die on, then we let the left choose a ditch for us to die in.
Rixon on December 21, 2012 at 2:35 PM
You can’t expect a guy who went around for the past two years boldly campaigning on tax hikes AND WON to suddenly back down when conservatives try to stand their ground against tax hikes. Obama’s victory ensured that our taxes will increase, just accept it and move on.
Given that, it might be better for the conservatives to not vote for the measure anyways. The senate bill will pass in the house with full democratic support and a few moderate republicans.
justinok on December 21, 2012 at 2:36 PM
We will soon see how irrelevant they are when the libs have their next hissyfit over raising the debt limit… irrelevance is a funny thing.
singlemalt 18 on December 21, 2012 at 2:37 PM
Ha ha ha ha… Statements like these make me understand why I am so happy today.
By voting down Boehner’s senseless “Plan B”, conservatives signalled yesterday that they have lots of fight left in them even if the surrendocrats (RINOs) among us have all but sworn allegiance to Obama and his media pals.
The RINOs, like the writer of this article, are flaming mad because conservatives REFUSED to play along. First was taxes, next up would have been the Second Amendment, and the GOP would have been reduced to a “principleless” party led by the likes of Crist, Specter, and Hagel.
TheRightMan on December 21, 2012 at 2:37 PM
There’s already plenty of other conservative parties, why not join them instead of making another one?
thebrokenrattle on December 21, 2012 at 2:38 PM
seems there is a a lot of “hurt feelings” and fortellings are beinging to come in from the “liberal” wing of AMerica which is starting to make me think the copnservatives derailed some grand liberal bargin that was in play.
as far as marginalized themselves it should be interesting when the moderate/liberal gop has to decide which way to vote with the dems or with conservativeas when the reid/obama bill come s to the house. If they team up with obama watch the primary begin
unseen on December 21, 2012 at 2:38 PM
Very true – Trying to avoid the “change the GOP from within” call that normally gets thrown out there. For the record, I’m actually a Libertarian.
Panther on December 21, 2012 at 2:43 PM
Well said by the author. People can moan about conservative policies or what the problem actually is. But if no one approves of your job, they don’t care what you say. You have to actually be in power first, then spread your views. It doesn’t work the opposite way. Plan B was the best they were going to get. But they’d rather defend their “principles” (which is a misnomer since they wont accept responsibility for them) and lose the midterms which ensures liberal ideas will be spread instead. Absolute stupidity by the Demint wing.
Zaggs on December 21, 2012 at 2:43 PM
With annual deficits of $1 trillion and a debt of anywhere between $60-100 trillion, this whole thing is kabuki theatre. If we had a DeMint as speaker, we would have written a bill that cut or at least froze all taxes where they were, cut spending and eliminated baseline budgeting. The thing was DOA anyway according to Harry Reid, so why cede your principles and consign the party (and the country) to oblivion over something that is a sham to begin with?
Your analysis is dead wrong.
Rixon on December 21, 2012 at 2:48 PM
I think the part of “no” refers to New Ownership.
tomg51 on December 21, 2012 at 2:48 PM
Except they didn’t. Now, compromising with them has suddenly become very important if Boehner wants to get anything through. That’s one of the real reasons for the enraged screaming from the liberal Republicans. House conservative showed their strength last night and the liberal Republicans, who thought conservatives had been beaten down after the 2012 primaries and general, got a nasty surprise.
Actually, it’s pretty clear the House conservative holdouts are the one in power. Boehner is just going to have to hold his nose and compromise with him. I mean, did anybody even bother to talk to the conservative holdouts before the vote, or did they just get a lot of bluster and threats and childish pouting thrown their way? My money’s on the latter.
Yeah, I think the hysterical screaming, which is way out of proportion to what actually happened, makes me think someone’s ox got gored last night.
Doomberg on December 21, 2012 at 2:52 PM
How much more “relevant” would they be if they just voted with the Democrats?
tbrosz on December 21, 2012 at 2:53 PM
Shocking. Its our fault we don’t want to continue the fallacy of a slow bleed on our march to death, and would rather address the structural issues causing the bleeding to hopefully find a remedy.
This is why the GOP is dead, and America simply needs to burn.
Ca97 on December 21, 2012 at 2:54 PM
Sorry, but my analysis is what is called “realistic”. Sure you can take the Demint approach, which if he were a football coach would be to lob hail mary passes on every play. Thing is, that just leads to a bunch of 4 and outs. Guess what? The conservatives in the House decided better to have 4th down and punt it back.
Democrats have beaten the GOP over the head over protecting the rich. They have the public opinion on their side. Your idea just gives them the bat back to beat the GOP with. Your idea just allows Obama to say “I didn’t want to go over the cliff, but the house GOP refused to make the rich pay just a little more”. So Boehner, despite only having 1/3rd of the legislative process and losing power in that, took the bat away. He handed the House GOP a win, something that shouldn’t happen in this situation. It was going to be Boehner that would have been able to lament going over the cliff with democrats protecting the rich. But nope, conservative in the GOP think if they just scream loudly enough, people will actually listen.
Zaggs on December 21, 2012 at 2:56 PM
Um, they might have “power” within the GOP. Which is like saying that someone has power within the Native American community and can control america. But get back to me in 2014 when its Speaker Pelosi. Like Dave Weigel said, only the conservatives in the House GOP could turn the Bush tax cuts into the Obama tax cuts. But in reality what will pass will be done with democrat votes in the House and will be far worse than plan B. But conservatives will have their principles. Which will fit nice into their moving boxes.
I mean did conservatives in the house actually put forth a plan? I have yet to hear one. Or was it “lets still protect the rich and just cut some spending that we have yet to convince americans should be cut”?. Because I’m pretty sure that argument didnt work in the midterms.
Zaggs on December 21, 2012 at 3:02 PM
No, it isn’t. Reality is the ultimate test of your theories, and your theories failed dramatically during the elections of 2012. We’ve tried it your way, with cutesy procedural tricks and “moral victories” and “making them own it” all through 2012. Obama is not going to be derailed by bad economic news and your own party base is eroding away.
I guarantee that more of the same is going to lead to a substantial loss in 2014 and probably 2016. Insanity is doing the same stupid things over and over and over.
Doomberg on December 21, 2012 at 3:03 PM
Bush years = slow bleed.
bark-a-bama years = major hemorrhage.
Lost in Jersey on December 21, 2012 at 3:05 PM
and those votes were?
Zaggs on December 21, 2012 at 3:06 PM
If anything passes, I agree that it will be much worse than Plan B, which was going to be vetoed by Obama anyway.
On the other hand, if this is the case, why should conservatives, who you clearly regard as enemies, help you guys sell out? You’re doing just fine on your own.
Doomberg on December 21, 2012 at 3:10 PM
Lol… you sure are taking the defeat of Boehner’s Plan B hard.
But you are reaching to suggest that conservatives banding together to defeat that horrible plan means we will lose the House in 2014. Last I checked, it was conservatives and the Tea Party that won the House in 2010… and back then we were also told to shut up else we scare the precious independents.
The only mistake conservatives have consistently made since Gingrich resigned as Speaker has been to consent to be led by RINOs, who share nothing of their principles but only delight to piss away any gains made in grand compromises with Democrats.
We say “NO MORE”!
Let RINOs burn…
TheRightMan on December 21, 2012 at 3:22 PM
No, time to purge the RINOs and reclaim the GOP as the conservative party.
Let the RINOs form their own party, which would be indistinguishable from the democrats.
Rebar on December 21, 2012 at 3:22 PM
Time for a new party. One that has rock solid litmus tests for public office membership.
astonerii on December 21, 2012 at 3:26 PM
I have no idea how some conservatives think that plan B going down so the Democrats can claim the mantle of the tax cutting party in January makes any strategic sense.
besser tot als rot on December 21, 2012 at 3:27 PM
The Sophists are mad
Daemonocracy on December 21, 2012 at 3:29 PM
I have no idea how you can think that plan B wasn’t D.O.A. in the Senate and that the media would give any praise to the GOP at all.
It’s not like The United States of Entertainment even knows what plan B is.
Daemonocracy on December 21, 2012 at 3:31 PM
Raising taxes on ANYONE, especially during a depression/recession never works and makes the situation worse by stifling growth. This is the core principle of conservatism. You do not compromise on this ever. The problem is that while I am happy that the vote went the way it did, we have no one in leadership that can explain WHY conservatism works as well as offer an alternate plan of cutting taxes for everyone and throwing it back in SCOAMF’s lap.
Bottom line is we need competent, pro-conservative LEADERSHIP to go along with our principled stand.
Rixon on December 21, 2012 at 3:34 PM
really? Are you that dense? ALL tax bills must start in the house. Allow Obama and the dems to raise taxes on everyone then start a bill in the House to lower taxes retroactively. Of course crying John will screw it up. Simple one page tax cut. Then pass it and Make Obama veto the “largest tax cut in history”
The sad fact of the matter is crying John and other GOPe leadership in Dc think tax hikes will bring in more rev so they are trying to pass a tax hike that doesn’t look like a tax hike. If the SPeaker had any other agenda this would have been over weeks ago.
unseen on December 21, 2012 at 3:39 PM
Conn,
Con some one else.
May be your to close in to see clearly.
Come out into fly over country, get a job that depends on the local ecomony. Say John Deer Tracors and farm empliments.
Do a three year deal making a living doing that, they you may see that there is a TWO PARTY EVIL MONEY CULT that has and is spending the U.S.A. into a ditch, not over some media made cliff.
On a personal note: Go ahead and shave you will never be a real tough guy like the Canadian your trying to look like.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on December 21, 2012 at 3:49 PM
Yep, you’ve said it all. Unfortunately, the RINO apologists in our midst will seek to throw dust in our eyes again and again.
The ones, who kept trumpeting over the last few weeks that we had been boxed in between a rock and a hard place and we should simply surrender on taxes, are now presenting Boehner’s Plan B as some super plan that would have given Republicans some form of victory.
Sure… at the cost of selling our principles?
RINOs can take that supposed victory and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
TheRightMan on December 21, 2012 at 3:53 PM
Lets all just keep it simple.
Where is the money going to come from?
Do some math, do like a 40 year pay out on what the Federal Goverment owes as of now. What are the say montly payments on that?
Now use that as the first item on our montly payment list.
Now finish the list, (no lies, no fraud, no trickey accounting rules, no borrowering from the citizens 401-K accounts, you know, or should know, be honest) highways, CIA, FBI, SS, VA, Defense.
No money printing, no Federal Reserve intentional inflation gimmicks.
When you have the cost, look at your monthly income and be sure to remember to account for accidents and unknowns,, if they do not match ,,, cut out more expense until it balances.
It is easy for U.S.,,, will not easy but required,,, give it a try or else.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on December 21, 2012 at 3:58 PM
Conservative means huge debts on children i guess. Pass one year tax hike on millionaires to pay for Sandy aid.
Mormontheman on December 21, 2012 at 4:36 PM