Heaven forbid CBS's Bob Schieffer might want any of their viewers to have to think too hard about who is actually mucking up the works when it comes to the gridlock and gamesmanship being played over the extension of this payroll tax holiday.
December 20, 2011

Heaven forbid CBS's Bob Schieffer might want any of their viewers to have to think too hard about who is actually mucking up the works when it comes to the gridlock and gamesmanship being played over the extension of this payroll tax holiday.

Here we go with the Villagers favorite game of "both sides" are equally at fault when it's the Republicans obstructing and making it impossible to govern -- Schieffer: "Dysfunctional" Congress does nothing -- again:

If you ever needed any proof that the congress is totally dysfunctional and unable to do anything - even something it wants - their failure to agree on a payroll tax cut extension is it.

Forget who is at fault. They all are for letting it go this far. Both sides are so determined to undermine the other that they can't even figure out how to do something they both want: Extend the payroll tax cut.

If this gridlock continues, it will be a fitting end to a year in which Congress accomplished absolutely nothing.

Nothing, unless you want to give them credit for not allowing the government to shut down. I give them no credit for that because I think that is the least we should expect of the people we send to Washington. Yet, that was what they spent most of their time arguing about.

What made this latest episode more odious than usual, is that by sending the legislation to a conference committee, House Republicans killed Senate legislation but did not have to go on record as saying they had voted to give people a tax increase. But make no mistake. That is exactly what they have done if this stands.

There is a reason that Congress has a 9-percent approval rating, and today's antics are like putting up a neon sign to remind people of it.

So he admits it's the Republicans who are playing games, but still wants to treat both parties as being equally unreasonable. Way to keep things "fair and balanced" there Bob.

I've got a chart for Bob to take a look at if he thinks all sides are equal with their responsibility for the gridlock in Washington from Kevin Drum at Mother Jones -- Chart of the Day: Republicans and the Filibuster.

blog_filibusters_party.jpg

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