Endangered House Democrats have to get out of town now — and not stick around for votes on tax cuts — if they are going to save their seats, retiring Blue Dog Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) told Democrats at a Caucus meeting Thursday morning.
Tanner, the dean of House moderates who is not seeking a 12th term this fall, told the Caucus that he was speaking for Members who could not speak for themselves, according to a Democratic aide.
Given “the Senate’s inability to come to grips with anything,” Tanner later told CQ Politics, House leaders should punt on the debate until after the elections. Democrats have been wrestling with whether and how to pass an extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, set to expire at the end of the year.
“I think probably the best thing to do now is just go home,” Tanner said. “None of this that I’ve heard has any more urgency now than it would in November when we come back.”
Full story: Moderates Tell Pelosi They Need to Leave Town – The Eye (CQ Politics)