Report: Dems make several concessions on fiscal cliff overnight
Vice President Biden and Sen. Mitch McConnell were locked in urgent talks late Sunday over the “fiscal cliff” after Democrats offered several significant concessions on taxes, including a proposal to raise rates only on earnings over $450,000 a year…
They also relented on the politically sensitive issue of the estate tax, according to a detailed account of the Democratic offer obtained by The Washington Post, promising to stage a vote in the Senate that would guarantee that taxes on inherited estates remain at their current low levels, a key GOP demand.
Still, McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, was holding out to set the income threshold for tax increases even higher, at $550,000, according to people close to the talks in both parties. And he was protesting a Democratic proposal to raise taxes on investment profits for households with income above $250,000.
The two sides were also sharply at odds over automatic spending cuts set to decimate budgets at the Pentagon and other federal agencies next month.
Blowback
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Oil Can on December 31, 2012 at 8:06 AM
That’s a semi-pleasant development.
gophergirl on December 31, 2012 at 8:07 AM
There’s no concessions here … where’s the $$ we’re going to cut from this leviathan budget?
This is a spending issue – not a revenue issue and the GOP totally lost it’s voice in it.
HondaV65 on December 31, 2012 at 8:11 AM
This changes nothing.
Let.
It.
Burn.
BigGator5 on December 31, 2012 at 8:18 AM
I was just going to say, are cuts part of the deal? No amount of taxation can even dent the deficit.
Dongemaharu on December 31, 2012 at 8:19 AM
Biden? That idiot?
McConnell? That milquetoast?
SagebrushPuppet on December 31, 2012 at 8:19 AM
Rush has been consistently saying that if the Republicans cave on allowing the Bush tax rates to expire, they are basically admitting that taxing the “rich” will solve our problems, and the lack of higher taxes on the “rich” has been our problem all along. A quote:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2012/12/20/the_latest_on_the_cliff_and_plan_b
I put the “rich” in quotes because on the Democrat side, whoever can be considered “rich” is an income over $250,000–and that number keeps coming down. FYI, my spouse and I make a combined income under $80,000, but I expect to be considered “rich” by Democrat standards before this is all over.
theotherone on December 31, 2012 at 8:24 AM
Boehner and McConnell couldn’t even negotiate which deck chair they were going to sit in on the Titanic as it approached the iceberg. You think they are going to keep their cool on the fiscal cliff thingy?
/phuquing idiots
Wanderlust on December 31, 2012 at 8:25 AM
Its an outside chance, but they might just squeak in a deal in time. Atleast they’re trying to. Good.
tommy71 on December 31, 2012 at 8:26 AM
McConnell should be the lead R negotiator going forward… Discuss.
Illinidiva on December 31, 2012 at 8:30 AM
Boehner could have done what McConnell asked Reid to do, which was dare Pelosi to put Obama’s proposal up for a vote in the House. Hell, he could have even had every Republican simply vote “present” on the GD thing. But no, simple negotiation is way too complicated for these buffoons, where practically every Conservative on the planet can see that Obama’s goal here is to permanently ruin the very small-government foundation of the Grand Old Party.
With this bunch of idiots at the Republican helm, Obama will succeed beyond his wildest dreams.
We are screwed.
Wanderlust on December 31, 2012 at 8:30 AM
You mean the milquetoast idiot who could have blocked a vote on Obamacare when he had the chance? Heh.
Wanderlust on December 31, 2012 at 8:32 AM
The GOP will never learn – why doesn’t the GOP release statements about how many concessions it has made – and that the POTUS is intransigent with his position?
The GOP must learn how to play the game – they are pathetic
jake-the-goose on December 31, 2012 at 8:33 AM
Really? McConnell has never impressed me – and yet I say that without an ounce of first hand evidence.
You tell me – is he in fact the best we have?
I would feel a lot better is Paul Ryan were in a position of leadership on this issue. A lot better.
jake-the-goose on December 31, 2012 at 8:34 AM
Actual spending isn’t ever going to be cut. We’re going to keep spiraling down the debt rabbit hole until it all comes down.
Revenant on December 31, 2012 at 8:48 AM
McConnell has apparently extracted more concessions from the Dems in two days than Boehner did in a month. And Ryan has certain ambitions that make it ill advised for him to wade into this mess.
Illinidiva on December 31, 2012 at 8:49 AM
Republicans out surrendering the French. The white flag should replace the elephant.
Panther on December 31, 2012 at 8:49 AM
Good stuff – my morning education – thanks
jake-the-goose on December 31, 2012 at 8:53 AM
Is this a bill that already passed the House or is it part of the Obama ammendment to the Constitution where he tells the senate to “propose” legislation to the House?
Panther on December 31, 2012 at 9:02 AM
This really angers me.
WHY ARE YOU “COMPROMISING!!??”
Three questions:
1) Will the “compromise” fix the economy?
No? ok, then how about:
2) Will the “compromise” address the long term structural spending problems?
No? Ok, last time:
3) Will the “compromise” offer Obama an opportunity to demonize you when the above two points become perfectly apparent?
Yes? THEN WHY ARE YOU COMPROMISING!!??
Give the Democrats everything they want and explain that the plan is stupid, damaging to the economy, and harmful to the long run solvency of the United States. However, since the American people apparently don’t understand that, we will give them what they want. But if the American people DO want it fixed, you have to get rid of the idiots that have no desire to fix the economy or rein in government spending.
makattak on December 31, 2012 at 9:03 AM
@makattak I’ll take a shot at it, but you may not like the answer. The GOP is compromising cos they don’t want to be in position to have to vote FOR the Obama middle class tax cuts. Which would then make the dems the party of lower taxes. Yeah, its optics, but in politics, optics are important.
tommy71 on December 31, 2012 at 9:21 AM
Translation: The democrats are trying to compromise but those dam# Tea Party Republicans just keep moving the goalposts and trying to take the country over the cliff.
Baxter Greene on December 31, 2012 at 9:43 AM
How are the spending cuts coming WaPo?????
………a budget maybe?????
…………………anything to make changes to the actual debt problems…you know…entitlements?????
“Concessions my a$$!!”……………
Baxter Greene on December 31, 2012 at 9:45 AM
Meh. The GOP is dead to me. I don’t regret voting for Perot twice, nutty as he was the second time around. Dubya only got my vote at the last minute in 2000 and kept it in ’04 even though I was ticked off his “compassionate conservativism” which led to magnitudes of increased spending. Almost didn’t vote for McVain and at next to last minute pulled for him because of Palin (yeah I was hoping she’d ascend to POTUS in short order after the elcteion – don’t care how – in order to stop the rat-eared mulatto. As for 2012, Mittness wasn’t severly conservative enough for me, even with Ryan, hence no vote. The only chance this country has going forward is to let it burn and have a new party rise from the ashes to replace the GOP.
AH_C on December 31, 2012 at 9:51 AM
You got it mostly right. If going over the cliff is every ones wish here, the normal American public WILL NOT UNDERSTAND that it was not the republicans fault for it. Instead you will have the media hawking about how the silly republicans raised everyone’s taxes and hate the poor and middle class. THAT IS WHAT your going to hear.
Sure you can TRY to explain it to the public, but the media controls the message. Its not much different right now in this country with the media than say…China, where the message is controlled ( yes I went there…if you look its almost the same concept )..
Going over the cliff = really bad things at the polls the next few cycles for republicans. Still have not shaken the whole GWB thing…this will only add to the fire.
watertown on December 31, 2012 at 10:06 AM
Take the deal ass hole! 450k/550k? If your raising taxes the lower the threshold the better! Get rid of the K after those numbers, and you are talking FAIR!
astonerii on December 31, 2012 at 10:39 AM
Exactly. I don’t know how making the taxes even more ‘progressive’ is an improvement. It just makes the potential Democrat voting base even larger.
Fenris on December 31, 2012 at 11:18 AM
GOP VOTE PRESENT – LIB -
dogsoldier on December 31, 2012 at 11:18 AM