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Go Home Man Bites Dog, GOP Version

TIMOTHY NOAH DECEMBER 20, 2011

Man Bites Dog, GOP Version

BY TIMOTHY NOAH

Here is some very rare live footage of the species homo Republicanus voting to raise taxes. A team from Animal Planet travelled the globe five years in order to capture this moment.

Okay, it isn't Animal Planet, it's C-span, according to whom (do I detect a thoroughly uncharacteristic and non-objective note of irritation with one party at the expense of the other?): "Members won't even vote on the Senate bill by itself. Their four votes are: to disagree with Senate's language; a motion to go to conference with the Senate over that disagreement; a reaffirmation of support for the original House payroll tax bill; and a motion to instruct conferees offered by the Democrats."

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9 comments

Okay, but let's be clear -- by voting down (by whatever means) the 2-month extension, they're voting down a tax-cut. They can wa-wa-wa about how they WANT a 12-month extension, but this is "let them eat cake" time.

- AllanL5

December 20, 2011 at 1:11pm

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Last year, around this time, the previous "Lame Duck" Congress was getting Obama to extend the Bush Tax-Cuts, in exchange for a mere one-year extension of unemployment benefits. Then in January we got THIS Republican Congress, who immediately held America hostage for "closing the Government" in April, then immediately held America hostage for 4 MORE months for the Debt Ceiling Crisis, "kicked down the road" with the Budget Committee until November, which eventually folded in silence. And NOW, this Congress (which has yet another year to run) is going to vote down an extension on Social-Security taxes? If the Republicans doing this keep their seats, then America has little hope. Or wisdom.

- AllanL5

December 20, 2011 at 1:43pm

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I would like to think that 2012 will be a better year politically, given that I have a tropism toward optimism when it is justified, but I fear that things will slide further downhill. It will be a presidential election year and the general will likely be a nasty affair. The Democrats will probably not take back the House, so the present gridlock will continue.

- liberalref

December 20, 2011 at 2:00pm

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...and watch now, the Rebublanii feed. Nothing goes to waste. See how the Rebpulicanii feed upon all of the Homo Americanii.

- RJSampson1

December 20, 2011 at 3:18pm

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...and watch now, the Rebublanii feed. Nothing goes to waste. See how the Rebpulicanii feed upon all of the Homo Americanii.

- RJSampson1

December 20, 2011 at 3:18pm

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The Republicans badly need a Shellacking. It is the only remedy.

- Nusholtz

December 20, 2011 at 4:26pm

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"The Republicans badly need a Shellacking. It is the only remedy." I be afeared, though that Democrats in general and the president in particular lack the frontier, eye-gouching instincts that generate shellackings. I predict that Obama will retain the White House, the Democrats will retain the Senate--barely--and the Republicans will retain the House, albeit by a reduced margin. The Republicans have demonstrated the effectiveness of characterizing your political apponents as evil. Given that the GOP itself has evolved into the closest thing to a demonic force in American life since the end of Jim Crow, Democrats have no excuse not to take up the E-word themselves and mount an offensive. Somehow, though, I don't believe they have it in them. It's the fanatics vs the careerists, and we all know who's likely to come out on top in that fight. "The Second Coming" has to be the most over-quoted poem in the English language, but here it fits:

The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

- AaronW

December 20, 2011 at 6:54pm

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AaronW Well I hope the Democrats realize that the only way to stop their obstinacy is for Republicans to lose power and to blame that loss of power on their obstinacy. Otherwise, if their obstinacy works, then they will point to their success as a reason to continue the insanity. The Democrats better start painting the Republicans as flesh eating trolls and ogres.

- Nusholtz

December 20, 2011 at 9:24pm

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Oh, look, the Republican Grinches in the House have FINALLY found a way to stop Christmas from coming. Or is it that we've all been Scrooged.

- AllanL5

December 21, 2011 at 9:50am

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