John Boehner: We Picked The 'Wrong Time' For Fight Over Payroll Tax Cut Extension

Speaker of the House John Boehner admitted Wednesday that his strategy in last year's fight over extending the payroll tax cut was mistaken.

"We were picking the right fight, but I would argue we probably picked it at the wrong time," Boehner told reporters, referring to the House GOP's decision to battle against the Senate's two-month extension in favor of a yearlong measure in the waning days of the 2011 session.

After a lengthy standoff, House GOP leadership eventually agreed to the Senate proposal. President Barack Obama later signed the bill, ensuring that a 2-percent tax break for about 160 million people didn't expire on Jan. 1, while also extending emergency unemployment benefits and protecting Medicare payments to doctors.

Despite Boehner's concession that their timing had been regrettable, he maintained that House Republicans were correct to pursue the yearlong alternative.

"Listen, we've got a lot of disparate voices in our conference. And the president wanted the payroll tax credit extended for a year. So did we. We didn't think the Senate should leave. But it was pretty clear that the Senate wasn't coming back," Boehner said.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress are set to return to the drawing board next week to navigate a course to build upon the earlier legislation, which is set to expire on Feb. 29.

Tensions between Boehner and Tea Party-backed freshmen representatives are expected to be among the biggest obstacles to a solution. Some have speculated that the speaker's desire for a quicker, less-exhausting negotiating process may prompt him to rebuff the more conservative, anti-spending branch of his caucus.

"I think Boehner will seek a more accommodating approach to get a good percentage of Democrats to vote for it -- even if it costs him a lot of House Republican freshmen," one House Republican leadership aide recently told Reuters.

Mike McAuliff contributed to this report.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[l78lancer]

03:43 PM on 01/20/2012

"Despite Boehner's concession that their timing had been regrettable, he maintained that House Republicans were correct to pursue the yearlong alternative."
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That's like saying it was dumb to fight, we lost the fight, but we need to fight.

That sets the stage for all of the dumb and unnecessary events in the future to become inevitabilities.

[v98max]

12:57 AM on 01/20/2012

So they were right on the merits about the length of their extension, right on the merits about all the other ridiculous nonsense they tried to lard onto their bill at the last second, and just tactically mistaken to stage their little drama queen road of clap right then and there. The Speaker doesn't even have his own members on board, there's not the slightest reason to believe a word he says on any subject.

[riggallamarillo]

08:03 PM on 01/19/2012

Look people I am a repubican and I am even discusted with the House and think every one needs voted out. Tea pary be damned we have a country that needs to run.

[dewh]

07:19 PM on 01/19/2012

Now remember all you GOP voters out there, Boehner has just PROMISED that they will take this issue up again, which translated means, they will continue to do NOTHING.

[knott wrench]

06:31 PM on 01/19/2012

John "Crybaby" Boehner, Congressional "Co-Captain" of the S.S Costa Concordia.

[bwats1211]

06:26 PM on 01/19/2012

Wrong time for a fight? That just sums up what the Republicans in Congress are all about. Not about working together to find solutions, but rather...to fight. Sad...so very very sad.

[StillAmused]

06:00 PM on 01/19/2012

Boehner Admits: We Picked The 'Wrong Time' For Fight

Broad daylight.

[Smaiyna]

05:10 PM on 01/19/2012

It is funny watching Republicans in congress all over themselves about President Obama putting on hold the final decision on the pipeline project. They are all crying jobs. These are the same people that repeatedly voted NO to the president's job bill for repairs and modernization infrastructures across the country even some in their backyard that is suppose to create jobs immediately.
With the continuous positive trends of the economy, by election date the unemployment rate will fall below 8% which will take away their only talking point left.

[Judy Rauch]

05:56 PM on 01/19/2012

This is the same group that will swear they did all they could and it was all Obama's fault as they are picking up their last paycheck as members of Congress. They could have won the election next year but were all such dopes that they thought by saying no to everything Obama tried we the voters would all blame Obama. Thats how stupid they think the voters are. Its time the GOP gets over it and learn the lesson that liars never win. I listen to these clowns running like Newt and its jsut one big lie after another and how do they call him Speaker when he was removed by his own party? To bad voters are not as dumb as the super pacs and their little slaves think we are.

[Bombadillo22]

05:07 PM on 01/19/2012

"Speaker of the House John Boehner admitted Wednesday that his strategy in last year's fight over extending the payroll tax cut was mistaken.

"We were picking the right fight, but I would argue we probably picked it at the wrong time," Boehner told reporters...",

I'd argue that, once again Boehnor has purposely got it all wrong. The Bush tax cut for the wealthy that depleted the Clinton surplus and has nearly damaged the middle class' future beyond repair was the wrong thing, at any time for the American economy and has been an anchor on its recovery since.

That's the battle cry 99 percent of the people will follow next election and the next..

[mjtaylor22]

04:54 PM on 01/19/2012

So he is saying it was right to fight against cutting taxes for the middle class.................but these same people were perfectly fine with shutting down the gov’t in order to extend the Bush tax cuts

[alvin12]

04:48 PM on 01/19/2012

In other words Obama whipped ALL of them

[lbc-clb]

06:20 PM on 01/19/2012

It's also been said that the GOP is playing checkers against a president who is playing chess.

[Cantinflas]

04:27 PM on 01/19/2012

It's worse than you think, Boener. You regressives picked the wrong time to live. The 19th century ended over 100 years ago.

[LiberalUnderYourBed]

04:40 PM on 01/19/2012

Couldn't have said it better!

[corjambut]

05:17 PM on 01/19/2012

Regressives are right! Let's teach Creationism as science in schools. Lets outlaw hormonal Birth Control. Lets never have universal health care. These guys want to send us back in to the stone age, bibles in hand.

[rsticks18]

04:07 PM on 01/19/2012

mr speaker you have to keep arguing asking how the democrats want to pay for something til the country understands it is time to stop borrowing ---when will it end? we are about to add ANOTHER trillion to the debt because a vast majority of americans just want to keep spending without paying for it --hey i am 60--you 20 somethings sure as hell will be paying

[Bella Lee]

04:30 PM on 01/19/2012

America is spending to pay off the credit card bush ran up charging everything he did, and then he just kicked down the road for our kids and grandiose to pay off. Blaming another administration doesn't work.

[Kindheart]

05:09 PM on 01/19/2012

Where was your outrage about borrowing during the Bush years, when everything was put on the nation's credit card?

[LynnDee227]

03:53 PM on 01/19/2012

Anybody else thinking of the scene in Airplane where Lloyd Bridges' character says: "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking ... drinking ... sniffing glue"?

:D

[rksnj67]

04:02 PM on 01/19/2012

F&F!!! I was thinking that myself!!!!

[LynnDee227]

04:07 PM on 01/19/2012

Ha! GMTA! (and I see you've got just the avatar..)

[Eye2amAmerican]

03:52 PM on 01/19/2012

at this point...it is irrelevant.....Obama has decided......finally....that the 112 congress is useless.....now all that is left is for POTUS is to double down and challenge the american people on the fact that divided govt no longer works for america....and that in order to restore this empire.....one party must have control of both the executive and legislative branches.........

Obama has to thrown down the qauntlet.....say to america...Vote all democrat or all republican in november....is the only way forward.....because the ideological differences are too great......

[rsticks18]

04:11 PM on 01/19/2012

nope----too great ONLY when we have an agenda driven idealogue in the white house --a rookie who had no understanding of how to make washington work----------- clinton and gingrich worked together-------------even bush worked with democrats until the war got too poltical for them

[hank101]

04:44 PM on 01/19/2012

When Mitch and John, declaired we are the party of NO. and our only agenda is defeat
Obama for a 2nd term. what is to work togeather...This repub. congress is trash treat
it like it is...

[dewh]

07:22 PM on 01/19/2012

And then THESE republicans REFUSED to work with anyone

[knott wrench]

06:35 PM on 01/19/2012

Yes.