Ugly year. That's AP's own headline.
John Boehner vowed early on that as speaker, he would let the House "work its will." At the end of his first year in charge of the fractious Republican-controlled chamber, it's clear he has little choice.So they did what conservative Republicans always do - they threw a temper tantrum and took the American people hostage until they get their way. If you'd like to be taken hostage a lot more, vote for more of these jokers come next November. Every time the Republicans get a majority, or hold of the White House, they do the same thing. They govern from the fringe far right, and pretend it's what the American people elected them to do.
An uncompromising band of conservatives, led by GOP freshmen to whom Boehner owes his speakership, has repeatedly forced him to back away from deals with President Barack Obama, Democrats and, this week, even one struck by Senate Republicans. Gridlock, again and again, has defined Congress in the Boehner era even as Americans fume and the economy continues to wobble.
In a closed meeting Monday night, a few Republicans gave voice to widely whispered questions about Boehner's ability and willingness to represent them in negotiations with the White and Senate. They were incensed that the Senate had overwhelmingly passed a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans and then left town for the holidays. House Republicans were demanding a year-long tax cut, but there was no longer a Senate in session to negotiate with.
