Speaker John Boehner. Hypocrite. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters)
This will come as no surprise to anyone who's been paying close attention, but Congressional Republicans—and specifically John Boehner—are full of shit. The payroll tax cut extension exposes that on at least three levels.
First, there's the pledge they made in 2010 called the Pledge to America, in which they said they would "end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with 'must-pass' legislation to circumvent the will of the American people. Instead, we will advance major legislation one issue at a time." As Politico points out, guess what they're doing with the payroll extension?
The year-end legislative package centered on extending the payroll tax has turned into a holiday tree filled with legislative ornaments ranging from the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the sale of broadband spectrum, an extension of jobless benefits, changes to Medicare and easing of certain environmental standards. On top of that, the House will also try to clear a nearly $1 trillion catch-all year-end spending bill — the type of appropriations package that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) himself has decried as inadequate.
In this same story, you get this from Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel, which would be indicator number two of just how full of shit Boehner is.
Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, said the extension bill "does not fit the definition of 'must-pass' legislation — which generally refers to funding bills, or an increase in the debt limit—nor does it contain any 'unpopular' provisions. Therefore, it is entirely consistent with the Pledge to America."
Last week, when Boehner was telling his colleagues "don't screw this up" it was pretty much "must-pass" legislation.
But most of all, how about the contrast between this tax cut for working families versus the Bush tax cuts? In the case of middle class families, extending tax cuts "does not fit the definition of 'must-pass' legislation." But here's what Boehner was saying just a year ago when it came to tax cuts for millionaires:
House Republican leader John Boehner signaled Wednesday that he was unwilling to compromise on a permanent extension of the so-called Bush tax cuts, saying preserving current rates is "the most important thing we can do to create jobs." [...]
"I've only said this about 500 times. I'm going to say it one more time. I think extending all of the current tax rates, and making them permanent, will reduce the uncertainty in America and help small businesses begin to create jobs again," he told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Ah, the mythical job creators, again. Apparently, uncertainty on taxes for working Americans doesn't count. Never mind the fact that a decade of low taxes for the wealthy hasn't done a damned thing to create jobs, and that the meager spending of middle-class America is pretty much the only thing keeping the economy limping along. Extending the tax cuts for working Americans just isn't "must pass" for the GOP, not at all like protecting the 1 percent.