On alternate days, Speaker John Boehner seems to understand that the real issue is over spending but on other days he seems to think the issue is about who pays what taxes. Of all the idiotic notions advanced for House Republlicans to cave on both higher taxes and more spending is the idea that because President Obama campaigned for higher tax rates and defeated Mitt Romney, therefore the nation decided Obama was right. Does that also mean that Republicans in the House should cave on every issue that Obama campaigned on such as his attack on religious liberty? If the election validated every crazy idea Obama has, then why show up for work?
There have been at least three grand bargains since 1986 and always taxes go up immediately and while Democrats promise future spending cuts that NEVER happen. There is even less reason to think spending cuts will happen this time around. Neither John Boehner nor Nancy Pelosi could win a vote for leader of their party caucus if the vote were held by secret ballot. They can only win by fear of reprisals. Boener thinks he is a leader because he bullies his members and holds private netotiations with Obama without consulting with his committee chairs. That is bad leadership. Someone now needs to tell Speaker Boehner what Oliver Cromwell told the Long Parliament: "You have sat too long for any good you have done, for God's sake be gone."
