Greg Sargent: "In defense of White House on Bush tax cuts"

Greg Sargent:

You could argue that the White House could have been more vocal about their desire for a pre-election vote or pushed Dem leaders harder to make it happen. But the White House was right to grant Congressional leaders the leeway to chart their own course. And at a certain point, it's tiresome to hear Dems blame the White House for their own lack of spine or leadership. Amid the roar of criticism of the White House, let's keep in mind that they aren't to blame for a key aspect of the Dems' current predicament.

************************************************************

UPDATE, 3:52 p.m.: The House just passed an extension of only the middle class tax cuts, by a comfortable margin. There are now 229 votes in favor. Recall that one key argument against holding the vote before the election was that Dems might lose. And maybe moderate Dems would have been more reluctant to vote Yes before facing voters. But I doubt it. It's far more likely that when it came down to it, enough Dems would have voted Yes to pass it. More proof that punting on the earlier vote was a profound error.

UPDATE, 4:01 p.m.: In fairness, though, whatever the mistakes of the past, House Dem leaders do deserve props for getting this done today, even if it's a non starter in the Senate. It's another sign that Minority Leader Pelosi is likely to be every bit as confrontational as we've been led to expect. MORE...