When Congress passed a two month extension to the payroll tax holiday, I assumed that the same incentives would hold in two months and a longer extension was inevitable. Steve Benen looks at the appointment of three hardline Senators to the conference committee as a sign that the opposite is true.
Instead of last week, when House Republicans became the clear villains, when the conference committee struggles to come up with a bipartisan solution, the party will find it easier to spread the blame around.
“It’s not our fault,” GOP leaders would say. “We tried to work with Democrats on a deal, but one didn’t come together. Oh well.”
For Republicans, it’s the best of all possible worlds: middle-class taxes would go up, the economy would take a hit, public disgust for Washington would be renewed, and the media would feel obligated to say “both sides” failed to reach an agreement.
Ugh.
