The President used his radio address to make clear that tax rates would be going up on the rich.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/12/obama-i-wont-compromise-on-taxes/
This is my favorite part of the post-election political landscape. The Republicans have lost, even if they continue to blow hot air and refuse to recognize reality. At this point, they remind me of Wile E. Coyote, having run off the edge of a cliff but not yet having looked down.
Idiots like Cantor make noises about having to put Obamacare on the table. The rationale is, “If we’re going to have to take a hit on our biggest legislative priority, you should too.” To which Obama’s reply has been to point at the scoreboard.
We’re now witnessing the first public fractures in a coalition that held together in solid opposition to Obama for four years.
They still don’t get how screwed they are, and continue to overreach in their demands. But the strategy of total obstruction, all the time, is dead. This is why Obama is making so many tough-sounding statements. The public is on our side, as evidenced by an election. Taxes on the rich are going up — full stop, exclamation point. Republican hostage taking on the debt ceiling? Bring it on because we all know your coalition, faced with polling numbers that show you’ll take the blame, is going to fracture.
When 20 Republicans break ranks to vote with Democrats, the fever will have broken.