Of course my title just paraphrases what is said between the lines. Senator Reid says "no" to Bully Boehner.
Dear Speaker Boehner,
Our respective chambers have been seeking for weeks to negotiate a year-long extension of the payroll tax cut for middle-class families, as well as unemployment benefits and Medicare payments for physicians.
You and I agree that this should be our goal. But as these weeks have made clear, there remain differences between our parties over how to fund and implement these programs that will take longer then a few days to reconcile.
Recognizing this reality, eighty-nine Republican and Democratic senators came together to agree to a short-term extension of these programs. As you requested when we met last Wednesday, Senator McConnell and I worked together to find this common ground. Once the House of Representatives acts on this immediate extension, we will be able to sit down and complete negotiations on a longer extension. But because we have a responsibility to assure middle-class families that their taxes will not go up while we work out our differences, we must pass this immediate extension first.
As the Senate vote made clear, there is no reason for this to be a partisan issue. I am fully confident that we can work out our differences and find common ground on a year-long extension. But in the meantime, families should not have to worry that they will wake up to a tax increase on January 1, 2012.
To provide middle-class families the certainty they deserve, I urge you to reconvene the House to act on the Senate’s bipartisan compromise as soon as possible.
Sincerely, Senator Harry Reid
Reid Letter to Boehner, quoted in Washington Post, The Plum Line, Greg Sargent
I love it!!!
As Greg Sargent says:
But if Dems stick by their current position, we may soon witness an all too rare example of what Dems are able to accomplish when they draw hard lines and refuse to budge from them, something they’ve often been unwilling to do, even when the public is on their side.
Washington Post, The Plum Line, Greg Sargent
Along with President Obama yesterday, Reid is making me proud to be a Democrat today. And Pelosi and Hoyer were great this morning with asking for a vote while the Rs literally ran off the dias and cut the microphones.
The Rs are drowning in the mess of their own making. THROW THEM AN ANVIL!!