Today POLITICO Arena asks:
Was the House GOP decision to unlink deficit reduction and an extension of the payroll tax holiday a smart move, or does it undermine their deficit reduction message?
My response:
The House Republicans’ move to unlink deficit reduction and an extension of the payroll tax holiday is simply a bow to reality. They’ve learned from the first session of the 112th “Tea Party” Congress that any deficit reduction measures they’d make will go nowhere in the do‐nothing Senate. As William McGurn details in this morning’s Wall Street Journal, the Harry Reid Senate hasn’t passed a budget resolution in three years and has never voted to extend the payroll tax cut for a full year—the administration’s No. 1 economic priority according to Vice President Biden.
So what’s the point of House Republicans conditioning an extension of the payroll tax holiday on a spending cut, only to be blamed, when the Senate balks, for wanting to raise taxes on the middle class? As long as there’s a do‐nothing Senate, our deficits and debt will only grow.