Tax chicken, not chicken tax

Recently we have talked about the cold war era Chicken Tax and the payroll tax extension, specifically how it was not a good idea to try and force a stalemate on this issue. The house Republicans however did not heed my thoughts and decided to play a game of chicken with the Senate and President Obama. The House Republicans blinked first. The payroll tax extension went through today in spite of Tea Party grumbling. This was the right call. It is a shame that the House Republicans tried to politicize this and their gamble did not pay off very well. But, as I optimistically wrote, the payroll tax extension went through.

The Guardian has a colorful, if not brutish description of Tea party bran muffins and the effect it had on John Boehner's digestive track to describe the situation that I appreciated very much. Check it out here. Colorful rhetoric aside, a little humility from the House Republicans might spur on some more cooperation in Washington.