As Jennifer Rubin notes at the Washington Post:
The extension of the Bush tax cuts is an ideological and immediate victory for conservatives, but hampering the funding of ObamaCare may be the most legislatively significant development of the week. Republicans aim to hold an up or down vote on repeal and, if that fails, to dismantle the legislation’s key provisions. A central element of that strategy, of course, will be halting its funding.It is a reminder for Democrats that their “historic” legislation may be short-lived. Their agenda, especially ObamaCare, pushed the electorate to the right and brought about the defeat of so many of their members. And if last night is any indication, they also sowed the seeds of their health-care reform’s undoing.
As for the immediate impact of yesterday’s vote, John Hinderaker writes, “the symbolic value of the agreement for conservatives is huge:”
For nine years, Democrats have gnashed their teeth at the “Bush tax cuts” and have vowed to reverse them. Democrats have now controlled Congress for four years, and have made no effort to do so. When they couldn’t put off the issue any longer, what happened? A majority of House Democrats and a large majority of Senate Democrats voted to perpetuate the Bush administration’s tax policies. By doing so, the Democrats have implicitly admitted (in some cases, the admission was explicit) that the Republicans were right all along: the sort of punitive tax burden for which the Left hungers is economic poison.I’m not a smoker, but if I were, I would light a cigar to celebrate the day when Congressional Democrats and the leader of their party’s left wing, Barack Obama, gave in to reality and endorsed the Bush tax cuts.
At Ricochet, Peter Robinson concurs with Jennifer’s take (in the portion of her post that I didn’t quote) that “The Hero of the Hour” is Sen. Mitch McConnell.
Meanwhile, Stacy McCain notes that some at the Washington Post are a bit perplexed over yesterday’s voting.
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