On The Recent Republican "Cave"...and more

Recall the Republicans agreed to a 2 month extension of the payroll tax-cut to be financed by a $33 billion dollar increase in mortgage fees.

I think Joel McDurmon, writing at Godfather Politics, summed it up nicely:

In other words, Republicans have “caved” by agreeing to increase mortgage fees for 10 years in order to fund a mere two months worth of tiny tax cuts. Instead of taxes being raised January 1, they go up March 1 instead, while the higher mortgage fees endure for a decade. Brilliant. And to score this great political achievement, the House speaker is willing to use Pelosi- and Reid-style procedural tricks to exclude the toughest opposition from the vote. Epic.

I can't wait to see what happens when they get back for the conference committee that was negotiated.  One demo aide says it will be nothing more than "a sideshow".
On the other hand, the Repub's in the Senate are trying to shut down some agencies by denying confirmations. For instance, by law only the Director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can exercise the new powers granted by Congress. By blocking Obama's appointment to that position they are preventing the agency from operating.
It ain't much, but at least its a start. Will be interesting to see if they follow through or if they "cave" on that too.