Having successfully defied the Tea Party on the debt ceiling, now it is time for Boehner and McConnell to use that momentum to pass three bills: An extension of unemployment benefits for people suffering long-term joblessness; a minimum wage hike; and, most important of all, immigration reform.

The Tea Party caucus in the House and the Tea Party star in the Senate – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — are never going to love Boehner or McConnell. Both Congressional leaders have tried for years to accommodate Tea Party passions but they can never do enough.

By standing up to the Tea Party now, the GOP congressional leadership can create a legacy. They may suffer attacks from right-wing talk radio. But they will go into history as the team that made it possible for future Republicans to win elections with the support of some working class and Hispanic voters.

By increasing the minimum wage, which is favored in polls by a majority of Republicans and Democrats, as well as extending unemployment insurance, the GOP can avoid the trap of being labeled as the party of the rich. Indifference to the people hit hardest by the recession is a major political vulnerability for the party as income inequality becomes a dominant political theme.