Dems wonder: Can the fiscal cliff fiasco hand us back the House in 2014?
Few operatives in either party believe Republicans have wounded themselves to that degree so far: The 113th Congress is only being sworn in Thursday and the next election is nearly two years away.
Yet with months of sparring ahead over the debt ceiling, the deep and unpopular spending cuts in sequestration and the grim overall fiscal state of the nation, there’s ample peril ahead for GOP lawmakers who threw the House into chaos throughout the month of December…
“House Democrats are as addicted to phony optimism as they are to spending. They have been proclaiming that they are on the cusp of retaking the House from the moment they lost it,” said Republican strategist Brad Todd, who advises the National Republican Congressional Committee. “If Democrats want to make the 2014 election a referendum on whether we should have a fiscal chaperone for the president and whether he should borrow and spend too much money, we’re happy to have that referendum.”…
GOP strategists privately acknowledge it would be a problem if the party somehow allowed itself to become synonymous with Washington dysfunction. But that would require mismanaging future fiscal confrontations — starting with the upcoming debt ceiling fight — at least as dramatically as they flubbed the cliff deal.
Blowback
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If not, then wasting a year on gun control will definitely put them over the top…
thurman on January 3, 2013 at 4:36 PM
Kiss my a–
Paul-Cincy on January 3, 2013 at 4:39 PM
The thing you should do is keep effing that football on gun control.
Yeah.
Do that.
Guaranteed winner, that…
catmman on January 3, 2013 at 4:41 PM
If the Dems make the 2014 election about guns and illegal immigration, they will have no shot of gaining any seats.
ninjapirate on January 3, 2013 at 4:43 PM
Their best bet would have been to make the House GOP look like obstructionists and unwilling to work with the president and let taxes rise on everyone. Kinda the exact opposite of what happened. Now the obstructionist boot will be on the democrat foot regarding entitlements.
Zaggs on January 3, 2013 at 4:43 PM
Didn’t they say this in 2010 and 2012?
gophergirl on January 3, 2013 at 4:43 PM
Somehow?
I’m betting that the dems will take the full congress in 2014. Mainly because from now until then the media will be pounding on the country about how bad the repubs are. On the other side of the coin the repubs will cave far to much for their base or would be voters to even care about them. They will see no difference between the parties. The dems will prevail even with poor turnout because the repubs will have less.
Dr. Frank Enstine on January 3, 2013 at 4:43 PM
Not really dude. How long exactly do you expect the people to believe that the GOP is for responsible spending when the GOP ALWAYS compromises with the Dims to produce irresponsible spending?
Let’s remind here – the GOP “mantra” was … “This is spending problem – not a revenue problem.”
Yet – this week – they ADDED MORE SPENDING while also raising taxes.
Gotta give it to Obama – 20 years of GOP tax “policy” completely tanked and it was Republicans who helped to raise taxes.
Dims – have a better than even shot at winning in 2014 unless the GOP strips down – and gets serious about fighting for fiscal responsiblity. If they don’t fight – they aren’t giving the American people a clear choice and if they don’t make themselves the clear alternative – they will lose.
HondaV65 on January 3, 2013 at 4:45 PM
Sure – leftist charlatans at least have convictions and desires.
Schadenfreude on January 3, 2013 at 4:45 PM
The difference this time is that the GOP is about to register 10 million new democrats.
El_Terrible on January 3, 2013 at 4:49 PM
The moron vote will be down, so they have that problem to deal with.
forest on January 3, 2013 at 4:52 PM
I think it’s a foregone conclusion. Unless something miraculous happens and D.C. is nuked or something.
totherightofthem on January 3, 2013 at 4:53 PM
Bad news for America?
Good news for the Democrats!
Good Lt on January 3, 2013 at 4:53 PM
As they say, Never Let a Crisis Go To Waste.
Steven Den Beste on January 3, 2013 at 4:53 PM
You mean like not passing a budget in over three years? If the GOP had any brains or balls they would have long been hammering Reid and Senate Democrats for their dysfunction.
RadClown on January 3, 2013 at 4:54 PM
ObamaCare is going to make America forget all about this.
Chuck Schick on January 3, 2013 at 4:59 PM
I Republicans don’t understand amnesty just based on that fact, they shouln’t even be dog catcher.
Oil Can on January 3, 2013 at 5:02 PM
“Can the fiscal cliff fiasco hand us back the House in 2014?”
We’ll have to wait and see. Nothing has really been done yet except making MOST of the Bush era tax code permanent. That was basically a win for the Republicans in that it forced the Democrats to go way higher than they had campaigned on (campaigned on $250K).
The debt ceiling issue and the budget continuing resolution issue are still to be resolved. Those issues have not been addressed.
The Democrats haven’t really won much at all here so far and the bigger issues are still down the road a couple of months.
crosspatch on January 3, 2013 at 5:07 PM
Republicans still have the leverage to shut the govt down in March if they don’t get the spending cuts they want. Same with leverage on sequestration which was simply delayed, not resolved.
crosspatch on January 3, 2013 at 5:10 PM
Hold your horses, there. The debt ceiling fight will be a much bigger effing deal. We’ll see which side screws the pooch more royally on that one.
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on January 3, 2013 at 5:11 PM
Bahahahaha.
Dream on, Democrats.
rockmom on January 3, 2013 at 5:11 PM
This whole Fiasco was Bohener’s doing in the first place when he Punted on the Debt Ceiling.
He punted on the Debt Ceiling because he was unable to keep his “I’ve learned my Lesson” promise to cut 100 billion from the budget in 2011.
For Boehner Caving in is a way of life.
So it’s easy to see that by 2014 the base will be either completely deflated and unwilling to vote for more stabs in the back (some of us would prefer to see the knife coming) or the Tea Party will really stir things up and have a boatload of primary challenges for these spineless twats who call themselves leaders.
jaydee_007 on January 3, 2013 at 5:21 PM
I think they will be more worried about keeping the senate. They got their massive tax hikes and Obamacare is beginning to be implemented. Unless the economy all of sudden defies the laws of economics the democrats will wholly own the economic quagmire they have created so I don’t see alot of hope for them.
Ellis on January 3, 2013 at 5:32 PM
Probably, R’s are little pussies.
Bmore on January 3, 2013 at 5:53 PM
Politico wonders: how can we help?
supernova on January 3, 2013 at 6:23 PM
You’re assuming the GOP won’t go along with them. We already know they’re going to on amnesty, which will happen before 2014. That will be enough to hand dems the House. Then Dems will hold the House and the Senate, and will be able to pass whatever gun legislation they want that they weren’t able to get before 2014.
xblade on January 3, 2013 at 6:52 PM