So they imploded. So Social Security cuts and $400k+ tax hikes are history.

[onehandle]

Back to no Social Security cuts and tax hikes on $250k+ income.

Back to the default deal, because the Republicans imploded.

Fine. By. Me.

[liberalmuse]

1. And this is exactly what Americans will see.

And in some way, I think President Obama knew it all along. So over the cliff it is! Weeeee!

[freshwest]

2. And begin to put the war machine on a diet!

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. I'm lost..no tv...

would you mind summarizing what happened?
are we back at square one or is the cliff going fiscal Jan. 1 or what?

[freshwest]

6. The GOP won't vote for their crummy deal, AFAIK, Obama's on the plane to Hawaii for Xmas,

And the grand old party's bargain just hit them in the kisser. No doubt from the national outrage over their plan that Obama took the heat for.

It looks like the cuts will hit everything but Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the ACA and veterans. The FICA tax Sanders fought will be back on the paychecks of all.

There will be pain and the GOP will own it, but the promise to seniors, the poor and disabled will be kept in the shuffle.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Wow....I am so unused to something GOOD coming from Congress

that I am dazed.

[freshwest]

11. Well, this isn't over. Obama can't really leave yet, and Boehner will likely by replaced next year

by a full Tea Party Terrorist to do Grover's bidding and fight Obama. The Senate majority kept this from going down. Obama reeled the GOP in but some will suffer since the GOP was too radical. One good thing is that the leak over the GOP plan of the chained CPI did its work - I'm sure people in both parties called their representatives and raised hell. Look to see more shenanigans next year. There will no be breather until we take back the House in 2014. If we don't, the Tea Party will continue to rule and we're likely to get a Tea Party president in 2016. Then we can kiss all of this goodbye. They won't have any opposition then. The GOP is beginning their campaign against the Democratic Senator now and they have the money.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Here's Yahoo's take on it.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/house-republicans-pushing-doomed-fiscal-cliff-plan-b-004700686--politics.html

[reformist2]

13. Slashing defense is the best part of going over the cliff!

I'll never know how they snuck that into the deal. Guess they'd never thought it would happen???

[freshwest]

15. It was Obama's poison pill. They thought they could beat him in November.

Failing that, they would obstruct and find causes to enrage conservatives and simultaneously demoralize Democrats. They won't stop this, but they have suffered almost a mortal blow in this.

First, the Bush tax cuts will finally expire. After all they did to bring in the Tea Party for that one purpose only, and it worked. They fired up the right with the social issues to keep the right and left busy. but it was about the money.

Second, this blow to their masters who make the most profit off fossil fuels and weaponry, and the two are interbred, will divert money from them and back to the people. Voters who supported them because those things were their livelihood, will shift their allegiances. They knew this.

So I think they thought it wouldn't happen, yes. And they did all they could with their media, to prevent it and still obey their masters. If this goes as intended, it is a permanent game changer. It needs to happen as Americans and mankind are facing challenges unknown to us.

But it's not over, there is still a change they can start something that will fire people up to do as they say. Other than that, we may see a lot more peace in this world from this - but not quickly.

[TheProgressive]

3. I would say that nothing is final until it is final...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

5. And again, there are a good number of us who have said that Obama is winning and he is!!

[Hydra]

7. This is how it ended last time too

The President put huge cuts to SSI and other programs on the table, and the Repubs walked away.

We dodged yet another bullet due to them being assholes.

Thank. the. Heavens.

[ecstatic]

14. Or, perhaps Obama knew they would reject ANYTHING

and his offer was more of a bluff? I think his team is pretty shrewd. They know the tea party is batshit insane. They can offer ANYTHING without fear of repubs actually agreeing. The downside is that dems get outraged, not realizing that it's only a bluff. Of course, that too works in his favor.

[Hydra]

16. He didn't need to do this

and he didn't the first time either. He has all the cards- he should have taken his first tact and forced the GOP to vote against keeping the tax cuts for the less than $250,000.

We'll see if the issue comes up again- this is twice that the issue has been placed on the table when it didn't need to be. Will we see it again after the new year?

[Stuart G]

9. Maybe the Pukes are history..........nt

[backscatter712]

12. Works for me. Time for the Thelma and Louise plan! n/t

[ProSense]

17. That's only true if you're not

GOP shill Steve Pearlstein:

Should Democrats have helped Boehner pass Plan B?

Posted by Steve Pearlstein

President Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi missed a great opportunity Thursday night (okay, I realize I’m late, but I’m just getting used to this 24/7 thing). They should have quietly called Speaker John Boehner and offered to provide whatever votes were necessary to pass his Plan B.

<...>

And I realize that, as a result of Boehner’s embarrassing defeat Thursday night, Democrats believe their hands have been strengthened now that Boehner’s has been weakened by the division that has been laid bare within the House Republican caucus.

But if you are Obama, and your goal is not to stick it to the other side but to get a grand bargain done before the inaugural roughly along the lines that all the bipartisan commissions have laid out, then it’s necessary to create a different legislative template, one in which legislation passes with a bipartisan majority in the center and plenty of “nay” votes from both the Democratic left and the Republic right.

<...>

By letting Boehner be hoisted on his own petard — by letting his misguided gambit fail — Democrats also lost a chance to do one of those political favors that provide the grease to the legislative machinery. “We’ll help you out on this, John,” they could have said, “and you can help us when it comes down to making some last-minute tweaks that will allow us to pick up a few votes from reluctant Democrats later on.” It could have been an important step in the trust building process between the Speaker and the President that will be a necessary pre-condition for getting a deal done.

- more -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/21/should-democrats-have-helped-boehner-pass-plan-b/

Democrats should have saved Boehner's arrogant and pathetic ass by passing an idiotic proposal?



House Republicans Cut Food Stamps, Obamacare, And Wall Street Oversight In Ill-Fated ‘Plan B’
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/12/20/1367271/gop-spending-cuts-added-plan-b/