I predict that the House will pass this compromise with overwhelming Democratic support and about 15-20 Republicans. It'll pass by a squeaker. I will be on C-SPAN the whole day.
Am I the only one who thinks that the Democrats got pummeled in this negotiation, and are going to get hammered again in February?
These are the first income-tax increases since Herbert Walker Bush. The GOP spent the last three decades saying any and all tax increases are bad. There is no universe under which progressives should be unhappy. If these tax increases correlate with strong economic growth and with deficit reduction, it will break the rhetorical stranglehold on tax language, and it will show people that tax increases don't really benefit them that much. It shows that Democrats are the party of compromise and reason, and shows that Barack Obama is already at work forming his second-term promises. This is a win in just about any sense of the word. That being said, there is no universe I can perceive in which progressives will NOT be happy. It's in their nature. See: August, 2011. Hey, how did that "because he betrayed me Obama won't get re-elected" thing go?
So the sequestration can has been kicked down the road. Figures. I suppose the month of March has some magical power to get these idiots to actually agree on something? I doubt it.
I'm hoping that the slightly different group of idiots we'll have in March will give us a different outcome. A man can dream, I guess.
And let's not forget that the debt ceiling debate will coincide with the end of the continuing resolution. Can you say "government shutdown?" FFS, this is a like a bad movie that loops.
If this is the vote distribution, then there will be a new Speaker of the House on Thursday. So who is chosen instead of Boehner?
Sucks if they don't renew the payroll tax holiday, especially for those of us who have to pay double payroll taxes anyway - and it really adds up. That's something that should be dealt with, particularly for free-lancers and contractors who don't make much money and suffered a lot during the tough times. But other than that I can live with the compromise for now. It would be a sight of relief particularly for the unemployed, and it will help most everybody in the short term as the recovery tries to gain some momentum. Hopefully it passes, and hopefully the new Congress will deal with the long term issues.
Pelosi, right? Plurality victory? Boehner's got 50 votes in his pocket, and the tea party has 50, and the other Republicans split even 90-10 one way or another and the Democrats vote lockstep for their guy. Or do you need a majority to get the speakership? I never cared enough about house rules.
What a joke this all is. They had how long, over a year, to figure something out? What is two months going to accomplish?
Yep. Boehner has to get a majority of the entire House, 218. I'm betting Republicans wouldn't revolt if Boehner could get a majority of Republicans to vote in favor of the Fiscal Cliff compromise. But if the Fiscal Cliff bill somehow passed with 190 Democrats and 30 Republicans voting for it, then Boehner may be in trouble.
The real small business man, eh? Not that "small" business with a five hundred employees type of small business I take it..... Real as in the backbone of this nation prior to the corporate takeover of the USA.
Ahem, William Jefferson Clinton. Uh-huh. Ummm sure. The William Jefferson Clinton tax hikes that you have forgotten about coincided with record productivity growth, and the GWB tax cuts coincided with economic misery, and that has educated Americans how? Their nature is that they are happy when they win, and mad when they lose, like anybody else. Obama's tax code is similar to George W. Bush's, and to the right of the triangulator Bill Clinton, that is not winning. Oh and 3-4 today for Watford against Charlton. These Championship lads need some help with defending but they sure do pass the ball around nicely. Like junior grade Spaniards, who knew?
I'm Just watching msnbc And wondering out loud "who's the bigger waste of oxygen,Cantor or Boehner?" Just hear that 37 out of the 40 house GOPers in the meeting spoke against the agreement... Mmh that agreement they could not even begin to friggin' create themselves a while ago? What a useless bunch they will have proven to be if they cannot pass this....
I'd guess, or at least hope, that the GOP is going to have to change some things in a big way to avoid heavy midterm losses.
I'm going to laugh if the house can't pass this. Obama gave a lot, arguably too much and if Boner can't round up his tea party to vote for it, well they are crazier than I already guess they are. A couple of notes: the $5 million exclusion on estates, indexed to inflation is much higher than I thought they would end up at. One place where Obama probably gave too much. And what is the new cap gains rate? I haven't seen it.
I'd like to think the American voter is paying attention, but right now it seems like it's just general "those bums in Congress" grumbling.
No, you're right. WJC put in tax increases in 1993 - I did forget. So it's the first tax increase in 20 years. And sorry to hear about your team - Birmingham look like they're spending next year in League One...three years ago they finished 9th in the Premiership, and now they're losing away and tying at home. But to think that the first tax increases in 20 years isn't a good start, I dunno. Either you assume Obama gets nothing done for the next four years - and in which case, why'd you vote for him - or you think he's a liar when he says "I want a balanced approach from now on out" - in which case, why'd you vote for him?