This story from Politico.com just shows you how messed up our current political system is. Republicans fear backlash after they worked with the president on a tax compromise. Should working together really be considered a political liability?
From Politico.com:
For a host of Republican presidential hopefuls, the White House-backed compromise to extend the Bush tax cuts presents an unlikely dilemma: How to agree with President Barack Obama.
That unfamiliar struggle unfolded Tuesday on the Senate floor, in media interviews and on newspaper op-ed pages, as the potential candidates sought to play the angles, with some taking bright-line positions in opposition and others hedging their bets with statements notable for their caution.
On the surface, the deal currently making its way through Congress gives GOP leaders much of what they wanted from the lame-duck negotiation: it keeps most 2001 tax rates in place while suspending Social Security payroll taxes and extending jobless benefits for unemployed Americans.
It's a proposal backed by the Republican leadership in both chambers of Congress and counts even Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the small-government conservative hero, among its supporters.