House Speaker John Boehner has his hands full getting his caucus into line, and he's being hammered from all sides for letting them get loose in the first place.
House Republicans have been notoriously fractured since 2010 saw a wave of Tea Partiers sweep into the chamber, riding the crest of anti-Obama sentiment.
While some of them lost their reelection bids, redistricting after the 2010 Census resulted in extremely partisan districts across the country, so most held onto their seats.
As Boehner and other Republicans leaders came around to believe that raising taxes on some was better than raising taxes on everyone, they were unable to get the rest of the party on board. Even House Majority leader Eric Cantor opposed the deal.
The fiscal cliff deal did finally pass after the last minute, but Boehner is paying the political price.
In a bout of political showmanship, nine Republicans defected during Boehner's bid to be reelected Speaker of the House.
Several prominent Republicans, including Michele Bachmann, abstained from voting during the first round, likely so they could see what Boehner's support looked like before they threw their weight behind him.
When it became apparent that he was still very close to winning, most of the party begrudgingly fell in line.
But Boehner also caught flack from New York and New Jersey Republicans after he prevented a vote on relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. The vote went through on Friday anyway, but not without making it look like Boehner can't make up his mind.
"He can't keep thinking the way he's thought the last few months without having a disaster on his hands," said former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who knows a few things about letting House majority get off track and out of hand.
But if Newt Gingrich thinks you need more damage control, maybe it's time to reevaluate?
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