WASHINGTON, December 21 (RIA Novosti) - US Media did not mince words Friday, in describing to the nation how Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner failed to get enough members of his own political party to support his alternate budget plan.
It was a “humiliating failure,” said the New York Post, that came “crashing down,” said The Washington Times, in an “embarrassing defeat,” according to the New York Times.
It was a “stunning defeat” for Boehner, said USA Today.
The hope was for Boehner to get enough Republican support for his plan, which would have shielded most Americans from tax hikes but called for higher tax rates on workers earning more than a million dollars a year.
That show of GOP unity would have given Boehner a stronger hand in negotiations with President Barack Obama, as the two sides work to avoid the looming “fiscal cliff,” set to go into effect at the beginning of the new year, with more than $500 billion in automatic tax increases and spending cuts.
Obama wants to increase taxes on households with annual incomes over $400,000.
But the scheduled vote on Boehner’s plan was abruptly cancelled after an emergency, closed-door meeting with Republican House members Thursday night that didn’t garner enough support.
“The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass,” Boehner said in a statement.
“Boehner Cancels Tax Vote in Face of G.O.P. Revolt,” said the New York Times.
“Boehner abandons plan to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’” said the liberal-leaning Washington Post.
The more conservative Washington Times said “Boehner’s ‘Plan B’ to avoid ‘fiscal cliff’ fails to win over GOP.”
A review of coverage of the event in eight leading newspapers in the United States finds some form of the word “fail” used seven times in the headlines and opening paragraphs of stories from coast to coast.
The defeat leaves little time for lawmakers to avoid the automatic budget cuts and tax increases. The House of Representatives is not scheduled to reconvene until after Christmas.
