Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said we are more than likely headed over the fiscal cliff and called the GOP-controlled House of Representatives a "dictatorship."
An extremely poor one, but a dictatorship just the same.
Just how bad the fiscal cliff will suck remains to be seen, as does how long it takes to strike a deal. But it looks inevitable that the Dec. 31 deadline will pass, Reid lamented.
He took to the Senate floor to declare his frustration with Congress' other chamber as the deadline to deal with the so-called fiscal cliff rapidly approaches.
Reid argued that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) could easily end the standoff and avert the across-the-board tax hike in 2013 this afternoon.
Simply by bringing up legislation the Senate already passed, he could extend Bush-era tax cuts for income under $250,000, covering 98 percent of taxpayers.
But Reid charged that Boehner won't do that because he only caters to his own party and only brings up legislation supported by a majority of Republicans.
"The American people I don't think understand the House of Representatives is operating without the House of Representatives," Reid said.
"It's being operated by a dictatorship of the Speaker of the House, not allowing the vast majority of the House of Representatives to get what they want."
"If the 250 were brought up, it would pass overwhelmingly," Reid said, referring to the cut-off for income tax cuts passed by the U.S. Senate.
He also noted that Democrats in the House and enough Republicans would back it.
"What goes on in this country shouldn't be decided by 'the majority,' it should be decided by the whole House of Representatives," Reid said.
"The speaker, he said, 'No, it has to be a majority of the majority,'" Reid added.
The Senate leader also suggested Boehner is stalling because after December 31, Boehner won't have forced Tea Party members to take a tough vote on raising taxes.
In other words, at that point, taxes will have gone up on everyone, so lowering all or most of them back to where they were December 31 is somehow more palatable.
And likely to keep Boehner in place as Speaker.
"John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on firm financial footing," Reid charged, then went further.
Reid also sugested Boehner must be especially weak at being a dictator, noting that his attempt last week to pass a "Plan B" fizzled at the start.
"He has so many people over there that won't follow what he wants," Reid said. "That's obvious from the debacle that took place that week. It was a debacle."
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