TIME: The President won....the assorted Republican drama queens seem so two months ago, don’t they?

[kpete]

How to Negotiate

By Joe KleinNov. 30, 2012

What is difficult for the Fox talking heads to understand is this: We had an election. The President won....the assorted Republican drama queens seem so two months ago, don’t they?

What is difficult for the Fox talking heads to understand is this: We had an election. The President won. This gives him greater leverage than the last election we had, in 2010, when the President’s party lost. It isn’t absolute leverage, obviously, but it’s more than he had. Wise Republicans know this score–and will negotiate as hard as they can to match the revenue increases with reasonable long-term entitlement cuts.

I suspect that we’ll go through the motions, clock ticking, right down thru Christmas week, creeping up till the New Year. Then we’ll have a last minute deal that includes slightly higher tax rates for the wealthy, entitlement cuts (including means-testing for old age entitlements) and the promise to sit down and figure out a broader tax reform, reducing the corporate tax rate in return for loophole closings, next year.

But the assorted Republican drama queens seem so two months ago, don’t they?

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Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2012/11/30/how-to-negotiate/#ixzz2DkZarYxg

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

1. Joe Klein doesn't seem to understand PBO is willing to go off the "fiscal bluff"

To eradicate Bush Jr's tax gifts to the richest Americans.

If we wait until January, we can still cut a deal and reverse the worst of the changes.

At that point the goons won't even have to violate their no tax rate increase vows, because the rates will already be higher.