Why Tea Party Freshmen Caved On Payroll Tax Deal

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/28/144390035/why-tea-party-freshmen-caved-on-payroll-tax-deal

The final moments of this latest congressional showdown were fascinating not because of what happened but because of what didn't happen.

House Speaker John Boehner presided over a quick session — no roll call, no vote-counting. He brought the compromise bill to the floor under a special procedure. Then the speaker asked for unanimous consent that it be passed through the House. Any one member of Congress could object and block the bill.

But no one did.

Remarkable, considering the outcry conservative Republicans had made against the bill and how little was needed to block it.

Freshman Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, a member of the Tea Party caucus, told CNN he considered returning to Washington to block the bill but he couldn't make it back in time.

"The problem was by the time we were notified that a unanimous consent agreement would be offered, where I come from in Kansas, I can't get to Washington quick enough," he said.

Another Republican freshman, Rep. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, told Fox News the same thing but he blamed Boehner and other Republican leaders.

But it's also true that there were plenty of Republicans ardently opposed to the bill who could have gotten to Washington in time to block it.