No Keystone Or ObamaCare Bailout Repeal For Debt Ceiling Hike

At least they are cutting to the chase.

GOP leaders had been looking at pairing legislation boosting the debt limit to either an authorization of the pipeline or rolling back a portion of ObamaCare. But after presenting those ideas to members and huddling Wednesday, they determined neither would receive 218 votes from House Republicans. That left Republican leaders with no clear alternative to addressing the debt limit, which the Treasury Department has said needs to be raised by the end of February.

Instead, it now appears that a combination of Republicans and Democrats will be needed to get a debt-limit boost through the House.

I know some House conservatives are saying there's no point attaching anything since the GOP will eventually cave but I find it hard to believe they'd have voted no if Boehner had brought a debt ceiling hike to the floor with either one of those provisions attached.

It's funny how after repeatedly telling conservatives he doesn't care about their votes (fiscal cliff, Sandy relief, Violence Against Women Act, re-opening the government, the sequester busting Ryan-Murray deal and agreeing to link food stamps with Ag subsidies) Boehner is suddenly acting as if he cares what House conservatives want.

In other news, Mitch McConnell has basically announced that if you're opposed to legalizing millions of illegal immigrants you better hope the GOP doesn't take control of the Senate next year.

McConnell indicated the Democratic-controlled Senate's insistence on comprehensive legislation is at impossible odds with the House Republican majority's preferred piecemeal approach to immigration reform.

"I think we have an irresolvable conflict here. The Senate insists on comprehensive. The House says it won't go to conference with the Senate on comprehensive and wants to look at step-by-step," he told reporters after a meeting with the Senate Republican conference.

"I don't see how you get to an outcome this year with the two bodies in such a place."

It seems the implication of his argument is that the only way to get to a deal is to have both Houses in the hands of the same party. Well, if we go the House GOP way we're still looking at massive legalization of some sort. So if you are opposed to that...you better hope the current stalemate holds. That's an odd pitch from the man who wants to be Majority Leader but there it is.

posted by DrewM. at 01:14 PM

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