Boehner's Cock-Up, With Unemployment Benefits

Boehner's House passed the shitty deal.  Everything would have been better if the teabaggers had managed to derail the whole thing, forcing the new Congress to start fresh and giving any Democrats who didn't have their heads up their asses an opportunity to pass some simple items to help the economy.  But that didn't happen; the Democrats in the Senate didn't do it, and the teabaggers or the Democrats in the House didn't do it.  On the upside, unemployment benefits were extended.  That probably counts as protecting some of the most vulnerable Americans and also as valuable economic stimulus, both good and worthwhile things.  The payroll tax went back to its proper rate, making Social Security ever so slightly less susceptible to political bullshit scheming.   Another nice benefit was watching Boehner violate the asinine Hastert Rule which has driven the teabaggers apoplectic.  That's high-calorie fun.  On the bad side, we got tax cuts for incomes way above what the President promised was his limit.  There was also no tax cut to offset the payroll tax increase for folks making less than the median income.  The other taxes that benefit the highest incomes like the dividend and interest taxes and estate tax were not properly raised.  Not enough revenue through tax rate increases and not enough stimulus, and the deal leads to another crisis in a couple of months when the teabaggers go apeshit over the debt limit.  Probably worst of all, the shitty deal allows the Republicans to say that they cut taxes.  Never give those fuckers an inch.  But at least the idiot Republicans prevented Obama from getting any sort of Grand Bargain which would have destroyed Social Security and Medicare.  Overall it is another unfortunate could-have-been-worse situation in American politics.

Boehner managed to make Peter King cry over the storm relief, apparently because Boehner was pissed at Eric Cantor for fucking with him; Boehner punted on the relief bills and left King and the rest of the rock-ribbed Republicans in New York and New Jersey hanging.  King's hilarious lack of self-awareness when the backwardass teabaggers objected to help for Sandy's victims was a glowing highlight.  Somehow Peter King and Chris Christie and the rest of those Republican morons failed to pay attention to the last 30 years of their party's blooming insanity.  The teabaggers might almost make Peter King look lucid.  Almost.