How the Payroll Deal Will Affect Newt, Mitt and The Primaries

By Matthew Cooper // December 23, 2011 | 11:20 a.m.

It's worth remembering that Friday, Dec 23 is the deadline for Congress to vote on super committee recommendations.

Um, yeah. They didn't have any.

So thinking roll agreement is anything but putting off another major fight seems naive. And when the fight does come in late February the Republicans will probably still be choosing their nominee. (These primary battles never end as early as people think they will.)

The terrain will not be pretty for Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, or whoever is left standing come then. GOP candidates didn't sign on for John Boehner's failed crusade for a year-long extensions and it's not at all clear that they'll want to fight for the House some time later in February.

The bigger deal is whether the decline in popularity of Congress and Obama's recent tick up in the polls continues. Will the GOP frontrunners, whoever they are, have to adjust their rhetoric accordingly?

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