This Is Why Speaker Boehner Has Lost Control

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why can’t Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) get his members to pass a plan that would save tax breaks for all incomes under $1 million? Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) explained exactly why on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

As a “conservative,” he refuses to consider any plan that has ANY tax increases. Instead he repeats the “We don’t have a revenue problem; we have a spending problem” mantra over and over, and claims that raising taxes on millionaires would hurt small businesses.

This is like an obese man saying “I have an eating problem, not an exercising problem. Thus I will NEVER exercise.”

This is why if there’s going to be any deal to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” it depends on Speaker Boehner being willing to pass a bill that attracts dozens of Democrats.

Right now the fate of our economy depends on two questions:

  1. Does Speaker Boehner want a deal?
  2. Is he willing to risk his job to do it?

And if you don’t think elections matter, keep in mind that Huelskamp was elected in 2010 and ran unopposed in 2012.

 

Next time, Mr. Boehner, wait until after you avoid economic calamity before you start grinding axes.

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}