I link to Steve Benen because, unlike me, he is indefatigable in telling the same truths over and over again.
Indeed, the…debate [over extending the payroll tax cuts] has tied Republicans in knots. They want to cut taxes, except for these taxes. They don’t believe tax cuts should be paid for, except these tax cuts must be paid for. They believe tax breaks always work to benefit the economy, except these tax breaks don’t do much of anything, no matter what economists say. They believe letting tax cuts expire counts as a tax increase, except these tax cuts, which don’t.
We can add a few elements of bad faith and hypocrisy to this list. For example, policies that are approved without question when a Republican president proposes them are opposed with fury when a Democratic president proposes them. Policies that potentially undermine Social Security are wonderful innovative ideas, but when the Democrats push a policy that could do just that, suddenly the Republicans are the heroic defenders of Social Security. And, of course, many Republicans oppose extending (and, especially, expanding) the payroll tax cuts because they believe that it would improve the economy, create jobs, and help the president win reelection.
The debate over the payroll tax cuts has already created a rupture in the Republican caucuses. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell lost more than half of his caucus for his own plan to extend the cuts, even though it was financed by screwing federal workers. Meanwhile, Speaker Boehner isn’t having any more success:
Deep rifts among House Republicans over a payroll tax break became evident Friday as rank-and-file members of the caucus told their leaders that they did not want to extend the cut in Social Security taxes for another year, as demanded by President Obama.
Once again, Boehner is caught in a vice. He needs Democratic votes to do what he wants to do, but he feels compelled to make his proposals more attractive to the far right of his own caucus. He tried to explain to his members that they’re vulnerable to the charge that they are raising taxes on everyone while protecting massive marginal tax cuts for the wealthy. Too many of his members don’t care.
Representative Scott Garrett, Republican of New Jersey, noted that the Senate on Thursday rejected two competing versions of a payroll tax cut. “If the Senate is able to do that, we could do it too,” he said.
“We should not be taking money from seniors to give to people who are fortunate enough to have a job,” Mr. Garrett said.
Representative Charles Boustany Jr., Republican of Louisiana, said, “The leadership was hoping there would be broad acceptance of the package they presented, but there wasn’t.”
Rep. Garrett is a good example of a rank hypocrite and liar. He doesn’t give a shit about Social Security. He wants to privatize it. And he knows full well that the two Senate plans didn’t take any money from seniors. The Republican plan paid for the cut by laying off and freezing the pay of federal employees. The Democratic plan was paid for by a surtax on millionaires. But the bottom line is that he and many of his crazy cohorts just don’t want to do anything that helps the president, even if that means higher taxes for everyone who isn’t a millionaire.
The truth is that the Republican leadership cannot control their own members. They’re not functional on any level. You can give the president credit for exposing their weakness and driving a huge wedge into their caucus, but it wouldn’t be possible if the GOP had not gone insane.
If you ever wanted proof that the Republican rank-and-file doesn’t give a shit about anything (even its own rhetoric) except helping the rich get richer, the current debate over the payroll tax extension should provide all you need.
