I am convinced Rs eat their young when there is not enough food to go around.
Boehner's fiscal cliff offer under friendly fire from right
By Michael O’Brien, NBC News
As though he needed it, House Speaker John Boehner received yet another reminder Tuesday of his principal challenge of finding a resolution to the fiscal cliff morass without alienating the core of his own party, a position that has been all too familiar in recent years.
Shortly after Republican House leaders offered a proposal to avert impending tax hikes and spending cuts, conservatives attacked it as a betrayal of core principles, putting the top GOP lawmaker in a difficult bargaining position against President Barack Obama.
Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., joins The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd to talk about the fiscal talk negotiations.
"Speaker Boehner's $800 billion tax hike will destroy American jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more, while not reducing our $16 trillion debt by a single penny," Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said Tuesday in a statement. The South Carolina senator – an influential figure among conservatives – was referring to the new revenue projected in the GOP proposal that would come from closing loopholes and deductions in the tax code rather than rate increases.
The White House rejected that proposal at first glance, reasoning that Boehner and House Republicans offered no concessions to Obama's central demand that income tax rates be allowed to increase for the wealthiest Americans.
In short, Boehner is being pulled in opposite directions by an administration which demands more compromise from Republicans, and by conservatives who expect the speaker to cede no ground. That leaves him with few options to craft a deal. (Boehner allies point, ironically, to some past comments by DeMint suggesting allowing some tax increases might be politically expedient.)
Tim Phillips, the president of the Koch Brothers-backed group Americans for Prosperity, said Monday that Boehner's proposal "leaves conservatives wanting."
"By placing an $800 billion tax hike on the table, Republican Leaders are engaging in little more than pre-emptive capitulation," Heritage Action -- the political wing of the Heritage Foundation think tank -- said in talking points provided Monday to its followers. "The latest Republican proposal to President Obama is nothing but bad policy and a highly questionable negotiating tactic."
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