Ann Marie Buerkle Does Not Save the Day

At the eleventh hour, 2 freshmen House of Representatives Republicans wrote to House Speaker Boehner recommending that he direct his Republican bots to vote in favor of the Senate-backed two month extension of the pay-roll tax cut. In addition the bill extends unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million people and stops threatened Medicaid cuts to doctors. 

Is is even necessary to say that Ann Marie Buerkle was not one of the two Republican freshman urging Boehner to come to his senses?

According to the Associated Press' website

Dec 22, 4:41 PM EST

AP sources: House leaders accept Senate tax terms

By ANDREW TAYLOR and LAURIE KELLMAN 

Associated Press  

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Two members of the uncompromising class of House GOP freshmen piled behind the growing call for a short-term extension, developments that suggested the conservative opposition had begun to crumble. Republican House leaders were expected to convene a conference call to discuss whether to change course, according to a House GOP aide who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"I don't think that my constituents should have a tax increase because of Washington's dysfunction," said freshman Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., a former reality show star.

"An `all or nothing' attitude is not what my constituents need now," Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., wrote in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner. "We are now in a position...that requires Republicans to not only demand a willingness to compromise, but to offer it as well."

The statements were fresh signs that House Republicans may not be able to withstand pressure from their constituents and almost every corner of the GOP to get behind the Senate's two-month tax cut extension passed last week with the support of 39 Republicans.

Duffy and Crawford got inspiration earlier in the day from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who urged the House to do what Boehner has refused: pass a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut before it expires and paychecks shrink just as Americans begin paying their holiday bills. Meanwhile, McConnell said in a statement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should convene negotiators to work with Boehner's team and craft a longer-term renewal. The legislation also includes jobless aid for millions and relief for doctors facing a huge cut in Medicare payments. Two Republican senators, Olympia Snowe of Maine and Mike Johanns of Nebraska also endorsed McConnell's plan Thursday.

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