Boehner spokesman: 'The president is threatening every American family with higher taxes'

C'mon. Don't look so surprised at their reaction.
Did you really expect anything different? This is classic: One day after President Obama offered to extend some Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and cut Social Security benefits, John Boehner's office is going on the attack after the White House released a statement rejecting Boehner's "Plan B" proposal to extend the Bush tax cuts on all income up to $1 million.

Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck fired back that "the White House's position defies common sense."

"After spending months saying we must ask for more from millionaires and billionaires, how can they reject a plan that does exactly that," he asked. "By once again moving the goal posts, the President is threatening every American family with higher taxes.'

So Republicans take middle-class tax cuts hostage ... and the president is threatening every American family with a tax hike? That would be an absurd thing to say under any circumstance, but it's especially ridiculous coming the day after President Obama offered the GOP enormous concessions in the hopes of getting a deal done.

The lesson here is pretty clear. First, if you give these guys an inch, they'll ask for a mile. Second, they are scared to death of getting blamed for tax hikes if the middle-class tax cuts expire. They are desperate to pin the blame on Obama, and they hope he'll stay at the negotiating table and away from the public, because if he continues making the case that he's been making to the public over tax cuts, there's no way the GOP can win. For Republicans, the one thing that would be worse than letting the Bush tax cuts expire on the wealthy would be getting the blame for letting middle-class tax cuts expire for everybody. That fact gives the president enormous leverage. He should use it.