Out of Congress, Ideas but No Compromise

The theme of the day is compromise—at least, politicians offering their ideas about what a compromise should look like, without deciding to actually compromise. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell came out with one of his own, in what Politico describes as "a blow to House Republicans." McConnell's idea: House Republicans OK the Senate's two-month extension, and at the same time, Senate Democrats appoint negotiators who will work to make the full-year extension a reality. "We can and should do both." His comments come on the heels of some other notables:

• Some 30 minutes before McConnell presented his idea, John Boehner presented his idea ... which hasn't changed. He wants a one-year extension. "The fact is, we can do better," he told reporters. "It’s time for us to sit down and have a serious negotiation and solve this problem so that American workers don’t see their taxes go up in January."
• GOP Rep. Dave Camp (notable in that he's one of the eight conferees Boehner picked to work things out with Dems) suggested a 90-day extension on CNBC this morning, reports Politico. "If we can’t do a year, at least do a quarter, something that matches up with what employers have to report," he said. "We’re hearing from employers that not matching up with the quarterly reporting that they’re required to do is going to cause them a tremendous burden and difficulty." Of course, what he really wants is for "the Senate to come back and join us in a conference."

(More payroll taxes stories.)