Top Headline Comments 10-16-13

Day 16.

NRO's Jonathan Strong has wrap-up for yesterday's shenanigans in the House which looked a lot like the rejection of Speaker Boehner's "Plan B" during the fiscal cliff impasse last year during the holidays. You'll recall that under Plan B, the Bush tax cuts would be extended for everyone making less than $1 million per year. Days after that was rejected for being a "tax hike," the House was forced to vote on the Senate's offer to extend the tax cuts only for everyone making less than $450k per year. Many Republicans again voted no, but the bill passed with mixed Dem and GOP support. Here's what I wrote after that little episode:

Back to the fiscal cliff, there's a lot of moaning about Republicans "paying the price" for yesterday's fiscal cliff drama, by which I mean not just the vote, but also the all-day Three Stooges routine put on by the House GOP. I don't think that's true. Most GOP members get to go back to their districts and say they voted against the plan, which will no doubt please their majority-GOP constituents. The ones that voted for the plan were already on solid ground in their more purple districts. They get to go back and say they averted tax hikes for their constituents.

Each of these two categories of Republican congressmen are going to count their actions as qualified victories when they seek reelection. So, of course, neither group has much incentive to change anything about the way they acted the next time around. Did I mention the sequester and debt ceiling debates are just around the corner?

Anyway, word is filtering out of the Senate that they'll move legislation that includes government funding through January 15, a debt ceiling hike through about February 7, a budget commission, income verification for Obamacare subsidies, and flexibility to government agencies on what to cut for sequestration. No Vitter Amendment and no medical device tax repeal or delay.

Colorado is looking at another recall petition for a gun grabbing state senator. If successful, the recall would flip control of the state senate back to the GOP. The state's Democratic governor is telling the gun control groups that poured millions into the campaigns of recalled incumbents earlier in the year to stay away.

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posted by Gabriel Malor at 06:59 AM

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