Mitt Romney came out in favor of an extension of the payroll tax holiday today on the Michael Medved radio show. That represents a bit of a flip-flop from what Romney was saying in October. And it injects his opinion into the debate roiling the Republican caucuses on Capitol Hill. I don’t care what the polls say, on Capitol Hill, Mitt Romney is the clear frontrunner. In fact, no other candidate is even thinkable. So, when he takes one side of a contentious issue, most lawmakers should be lining up to support his position. Before long, he is supposed to be the Republican standard bearer, and he doesn’t need a bunch of knee biters doubting his leadership and taking contrary positions on the issues.
In truth. Romney is siding with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, who both want to extend the payroll tax holiday and to extend unemployment insurance. The problem is that most of the Republican congresspeople they lead completely disagree. You might be inclined to give Romney credit for taking a reasonable position, but don’t forget that he is likely to take the opposite position tomorrow when it becomes clear, once again, that being reasonable is political poison in the GOP primaries.
Indeed, why should any GOP congresscritter back up a man who is likely to leave him twisting in the howling wind of the teabaggers’ fury?
Kind of a problem, don’t you think?
i’m tempted to repost the mitt headroom video,if only for the fl-fl-fl-flip-flop line.
I’m amazed the knots the GOP has tied themselves into over voting against a tax cut. They’re insisting that the pay roll tax cut be paid for, and that letting a temporary decrease expire isn’t the same thing as raising taxes, which is taking their eyes off the prize in a big way. And for what? Denying Obama a victory? Deliberately sabotaging the economy to make their chances better next November? Gratuitously screwing the 99%?
These are not narratives they want taking hold. Of course, if they could do cost-benefit analyses, they wouldn’t be Republicans, would they?
Normally I would be laughing vigorously over GOP ineptitude and ignorance, but these are not normal times. People are hurting. Obviously the tax holiday must be extended as well as unemployment insurance.
GOP leadership Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, etc. grabbed the ol’ extremist teabagger mob by the tail, too dumb to realize there’d be a big problem later with the new wave of GOP congresspeople elected in 2010.
OOPS!! Now we’re in another election cycle, and as you indicated, Boehner/McConnell really don’t want to be painted as the assclowns who raised taxes on the middle class and allowed unemployment bennies to expire for thousands of unemployed Americans.
Yet that is exactly where they are headed with their extremist/knuckleheaded junior (stupid) congresspeople. Politically, they know this is a massive lose/lose for the GOP.
If they were serious about removing Obama from office, this is not the way to do it.
Other than showing once again that Mitt flip-flops, what is the importance.
He is safe in that he will never have the opportunity to vote on the provision. Political positions like his are like Schrodinger’s cat–uncertain until the moment of truth–when he casts a vote or exercises a veto.