The word is out, my friends: Democrats ALWAYS pay the ransom!

[Atticus]

I am certainly not anti-Obama. I did more to get him elected than many on this board. I do not regret that.

But, please---don't insult our intelligence by 'splainin' how we started off with a $250K threshhold for extending the Bush tax cuts and they started off opposing any extension so WE WON! This is rank, unadulterated bullshit, people!

That $250K figure isn't something just recently pulled out of a hat. The President mentioned this figure repeatedly during the campaign which, by the way, he won handily despite racism, despite the weak economy and despite hundreds of millions of dollars of tainted campaing contributions to his opponent. We picked up seats in the Senate. We picked up seats in the House and our House candidates out-polled the GOP candidates by over one million votes.

The prior spending cuts---amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars---have not been matched with ANY new taxes at this time.

There is no reason we should be conceding anything further. In my opinion, agreeing to increase the taxes on the wealthy to ONLY 39.6% is already a concession. I'd have rather seen us start out with the People's Budget as proposed by the Progressive Caucus. SEE: http://grijalva.house.gov/uploads/The_CPC_FY2012_Budget.pdf

Many have allowed themselves to be stampeded into "We have to make a deal" frame instead of just steadfastly insisting on AT LEAST what the American people thought they had voted for.

I fully expect to be reamed for this post. That's fine, but don't waste your time trying to convince me that the "deal" currently being discussed would be a win.

[DesertFlower]

1. i think the deal stinks. $450,000 is

a lot of money.

$250,000 is a lot too unless you live in NYC, LA, Hawaii, but if you live in phoenix, arizona like i do you can live quite well. i lived in NYC for 48 years and i've lived in phoenix for 26.

[bigtree]

2. problem isn't just w/ the wh vs. republicans

There are a number of Democrats who oppose the $250,000 level.

[DesertFlower]

3. exactly. most members of congress

are millionaires.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. A very public deal. Rejected by the opposition.

There's NO way for the repigs to spin this. They were handed a deal - one that would've allowed them to save face, yet they decided to hold tight to their... ideology (IMO: racism!). Everyone loses, but the repig loss is significantly greater.

[catbyte]

5. Sadly, it won't matter what with congressional district gerrymandering.

There is no way we will take the House any time soon.

[NorthCarolina]

6. Perhaps we confuse "conceding" with "complicity"? nt

[plethoro]

7. Ah Ha, someone finally said it..........nft

dddddddd

[LoisB]

8. You nailed it.

[chimpymustgo]

10. Ding, ding, ding. We've played this game so many, many times before.

[Demo_Chris]

9. 250K is a LOT anywhere.

250K is the equivalent of the annual salaries of about fifteen Walmart cashiers. Walmart... America's largest employer, and for many people a great job compared to the alternative of no job at all.

If that's not a lot in New York I'll move there, live in a box and bus tables for a year. If I get paid even half that much I can take my money and move elsewhere, buy a damn nice home with cash, send my daughter to college for four years, and still have enough left over for a new Nissan. But of course, that's all BS. Most people in New York are making a couple bucks more than the same job elsewhere -- if that. The well off in New York might be doing great, but the poor are still poor.