I have no doubt that some TEA party activists disagree with my assessment that their dissent from the party has any effect except a positive one, but others aren't so sure. "[U]nanswered [is]a question with big implications for Obama’s second term: If the president could divide and conquer House Republicans on tax increases, can he do it again on the debt ceiling, guns and immigration?" [POLITICO]
Well, that depends, right? I know for those of us living in Kentucky we can't imagine that anybody, particularly a republican, would favor any kind of gun control, but that's a bit parochial don't you think? There are republicans from blue states too you know, and some of those states are filled with people who are frightened by guns, never see them, never use them and see no reason for people to own or handle guns.
Of the 85 Republicans who backed the tax-hike bill — and provided it with the margin it needed to pass — 70 hail from states that the president won in November.
The rift rankled conservatives who see the House GOP going adrift — and raised hopes among Democrats who see a potential opening to exploit going forward.
House Republicans all say they want to take a hard line with Obama on spending; whether they keep a united front on potentially shutting down the government or forcing a default on the nation’s debt is another matter.
Immigration and gun control may also come to a head in the House at some point as the GOP reckons with its miserable performance among Latinos in November and growing calls for the government to do something about a string of mass shootings.
Democrats argue that the red state-blue state House GOP split that became apparent in the fiscal cliff vote provides them with an opening on other politically dicey legislation. [POLITICO]
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