Bob Schieffer: When pigs flew in Washington
23.05.12
(CBS News)
We interrupt this program with a bulletin: Congress did something.
I mean, really! We're not kidding, Congress actually did something Friday.
A bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats agreed to extend the payroll tax cut for the rest of the year.
That, after Republicans had vowed for two months to oppose it unless there were huge cuts in governmental programs. There were no such cuts.
Instead, Republican Congressman Greg Walden of Oregon said, "We needed to get this policy moved forward. When you are in the majority, you have to govern."
Translation: This is an election year. We were about to get our keisters handed to us on a platter.
So the tax cut passed with plenty of Republican support.
Now don't get me wrong. Like the Republicans, I'm not much for tax cuts that aren't paid for. Nor do I agree with some Democrats who saw this as ranking in importance with the invention of penicillin.
Source: CBS News