UNDER PRESSURE

Rove Tells Boehner to Cave on Tax

Speaker in hot water for standoff.

How many more days of criticism will the House GOP endure over its failure to pass a payroll-tax extension? The latest turn of the screw: GOP star strategist Karl Rove publicly urged House Speaker John Boehner to cave and pass the bill, saying the party has already "lost the optics on it." Meanwhile, in interviews with 10 current and former congressional Republican advisers, The Washington Post notes a “recurring critique” of House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor for failing to warn their Senate counterparts of House opposition—a failure that allowed nearly all Senate Republicans to vote in favor of the extension. A top House GOP aide called the Senate bill “disastrously bad” and say the House rank and file want leadership to better defend their position.