Politics

Erick Erickson hits Sens. Coburn, Johnson and Toomey over ‘fiscal cliff’ compromise

Matt K. Lewis Senior Contributor
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Conservative commentator and blogger Erick Erickson is criticizing conservatives Tom Coburn, Ron Johnson and Pat Toomey for voting “for a tax increase with legislation that was not even publicly available.”

On his RedState.com blog, Erickson wrote that, “The only intent of the legislation, we now know from the White House, was to break the Republicans. The White House wanted to get the GOP to break their no tax pledge.”

“Tom Coburn, Ron Johnson, and Pat Toomey were complicit in this,” he added.

So why did some conservatives support the compromise, while others opposed it? Was it principle or politics?

Some are suggesting a correlation exists between senators who voted “no” and senators who have larger political ambitions. As ABC News’ Rick Klein tweeted:

Despite a “no” vote, Rubio issued a diplomatic statement, saying he appreciated “all the hard work that went into avoiding the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’.”

“I especially commend Senator McConnell’s efforts to make the best out of a bad situation,” he said, adding: “Nevertheless, I cannot support the arrangement they have arrived at.”

So here we have Sen. Rubio positioned as both a thoughtful statesman and a conservative fighter.

It will be interesting to see how Rep. Paul Ryan votes in the House.