Some Democrats are
pushing an unorthodox idea for coping with the "fiscal cliff": Let the
government go over, temporarily at least, to give their party more
bargaining leverage for changes later on.
The
idea has plenty of skeptics, and the White House regards it frostily.
But it illustrates the wide range of early negotiating positions being
staked out by Republicans and Democrats as lawmakers gathered Tuesday
for their first postelection talks on how to avoid the looming package
of steep tax hikes and program cuts.
Just as
brazen, in the eyes of many Democrats, is the GOP leaders' continued
insistence on protecting tax cuts for the rich. President Barack Obama
just won re-election, campaigning on a vow to end those breaks.
Democrats
and Republicans appear heading toward another round of brinkmanship
that will test who blinks first on questions of major importance. It's a
dance that has infuriated many Americans, shaken financial markets and
drawn ridicule from foreign commentators.
In
late 2010, after big GOP midterm election wins, Obama backed off his
pledge to raise taxes on the rich. In the summer of 2011, House
Republicans pushed Congress within a hair of refusing to raise the debt
ceiling, leading to the first-ever downgrade of the government's credit
rating. And last December, it was the Republicans' turn to blink,
yielding to Obama's demand to extend a payroll tax break.
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