Via TPM, in case the prospect of caving wasn’t already unpalatable to Boehner, knowing that the base will scream at him in the aftermath that he’s done Rove’s bidding should do the trick. I think they’re going to end up taking his advice, though — sticking on principle for another week, then grudgingly passing the Senate bill and holding an all-hands-on-deck presser to unload on Obama and Reid for preferring crappy stopgap tax measures to long-term solutions. If nothing else, that presser would give Boehner et al. the chance to tout themselves as the saviors of the payroll-tax holiday at a moment when there’ll be nothing else going on in the news. It’s not an ideal ending, but the Democrats really have no incentive to compromise: If the stalemate persists and the payroll tax reverts to the higher rate, they’ll simply point to Republican support in the Senate for Reid’s bill as proof that this is all the House GOP’s fault. That’s a nifty narrative to have while stories like this are rolling off the presses.

Exit question: Why don’t they take Deroy Murdock’s advice instead? Is it simply because passing anything right now except the Senate bill as is would still leave them vulnerable to that Democratic narrative?