And the Republicans remain in possession of the ball.
There are suggestions that John Boehner's recent statements that, okay, he'd go along with a middle-class tax cut, coupled with Mitch McConnell's and Eric Cantor's later statements that no, no concessions to the middle class without an across-the-board tax cut for the rich are possible, suggest that Republicans are playing an old political game. In this game, Boehner gets a tax-cut for the middle-class vote in the House but it is quickly stopped by a Senate vote. Why? Because this way Republican's running hard for House seats can boast support for a tax-cut even though it didn't take place.
The Dems are left between a rock and a hard place. They're forced to avoid a political game that gives the advantage to Republicans. They stop the Republican play by not having a vote in the House. But then they lose the advantage themselves: no nice tax cut to bring home to their middle-class voters.
The New York Times hasn't spotted the game, but it does point to the usual problem for Democrats in the Senate.
Republicans have demanded tax cuts for all, and, so far, not a single Republican leader has lined up behind Mr. Boehner’s concession.
Even his deputy, Eric Cantor, the House Republican whip, issued a no-compromise statement on Monday demanding a “clean bill,” which means one that would make no distinction between tax cuts for the rich and for everyone else. Anything short of that, he said, is a “nonstarter.” Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, introduced a bill on Monday that would extend the tax cuts indefinitely for everyone, including the wealthiest Americans. He may well be joined by Senator Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut independent, and a few conservative Democrats.
