Smithsonian Boss: I Regret Yanking Video So Quickly

Battle moves from DC

(NEWSER) - A battle over an ant-covered crucifix has moved to New York City. The Smithsonian bowed to pressure by top Republicans John Boehner and Eric Cantor, and dumped an art exhibit video showing ants crawling over a crucifix. The "Fire in My Belly" exhibit, by artist David Wojnarowicz, who died of AIDS, is now on display at the New Museum . "I think that in the artistic community, directors, curators are tremendously insensitive to Christians," complained Catholic League President Bill Donohue. "You can't make fun of the Holocaust, you can't make fun of black slavery, and you can't even depict anything about Mohammed." More»

Smithsonian-run museum pressured over 'sacrilegious' image

(USER SUBMITTED) - Bowing to pressure from top Republicans John Boehner and Eric Cantor, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has removed artwork containing a 4-minute video showing ants crawling on a crucifix, CNS News reports. Cantor had demanded the artwork be "pulled," calling it "an outrageous use of taxpayer money and an obvious attempt to offend Christians during the Christmas season." More»

Boehner and Co. say they'll accept tax cut without paying for it elsewhere

(NEWSER) - House Republican leaders have surprised and angered rank-and-file lawmakers by abruptly backing down from demands that a 10-month extension of the payroll tax cut be paid for with cuts elsewhere. GOP leaders are wary of holding up a tax cut for 160 million Americans in an election year, Politico notes, but John Boehner's raucous caucus will likely chafe at the move, which will add around $100 billion to the deficit. Still, the measure will now likely pass; even Nancy Pelosi hasn't signaled opposition. More»

Reports say that Boehner is behind it, but others are 'in full revolt'

(NEWSER) - The Senate easily passed the payroll tax cut package yesterday, but "easy" probably isn't a word that will be linked to the deal's fate when it reaches the House tomorrow. Both the Washington Post and Politico report that many House Republicans aren't pleased with the two-month deal. How unhappy are they? Politico uses terms like "in full revolt" and "complained bitterly," while the Post calls the opposition that was voiced in a private conference call yesterday "vigorous." One person on the line apparently said that if the House is made to vote tomorrow, GOP leaders should ready themselves for, in the words of Politico, "a rebellion." More»

Some pundits think Republican leaders shouldn't play politics with Fed

(NEWSER) - The latest political firestorm comes courtesy of the top four Republicans in Congress (Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Jon Kyl, and Eric Cantor), who wrote a letter to Ben Bernanke urging restraint on the economy. "We have serious concerns that further intervention by the Federal Reserve could exacerbate current problems," they write. (Full text here from the Wall Street Journal.) Because the Fed is supposed to be a politics-free zone, the letter has set off pundits:

• David Frum, Frum Forum : "Are they serious? ... It’s an hour of national emergency even more urgent and overwhelming than the aftermath of 9/11. ... This is the hour for united action against the economic crisis, not partisan maneuvering."