That, and the fact that the House caucus got itself psyched up by talking Braveheart for 2 hours.
The payroll tax is not "must pass" legislation. The Senate can go home and see what people think before returning to vote, as can House Rs.
But anyone who thinks House Rs have some kind of master plan are wrong, just as they were wrong in the belief that Obama had some kind of master plan in 2009-10. Washington has become crazy dysfunction town, in a way I have never seen before. This is actually much more scary than if people had a plan.