President Obama To Speaker Of The House John Boehner: Stop Playing Games With The Payroll Tax Extension [Video]

Barry-O decided to go in on the Speaker of the House for the payroll tax issues:

In a surprise appearance at Tuesday afternoon’s White House briefing, President Obama called on House Republicans, and specifically, Speaker of the House John Boehner, to stop playing games with the payroll tax cut extension. The President slammed one House Republican who called the tax cut deal “high stakes poker,” and demanded an end to “brinkmanship.”

The House has rejected a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate on Saturday by an 89-10 margin, which has placed Speaker Boehner, who initially praised the Senate bill as a “good deal” and a “victory for Republicans,” in the President’s doghouse. The Senate deal calls for a two-month extension, but the House has disingenuously called for a conference to negotiate a full-year extension. President Obama explained, “In fact, the House Republicans say they don’t dispute the need for a payroll tax cut. What they’re really trying to do, what they’re holding out for, is to wring concessions from Democrats on issues that have nothing to do with the payroll tax cut — issues where the parties fundamentally disagree.”

“So a one-year deal is not the issue,” the President continued. “we can and we will come to that agreement, as long as it’s focused on the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance and not focused on extraneous issues.”

President Obama also blasted House Republicans for treating the payroll tax cut as a game. “I saw today that one of the House Republicans referred to what they’re doing as, ‘high-stakes poker.’ He’s right about the stakes, but this is not poker, this is not a game — this shouldn’t be politics as usual.”

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