jar writes:
Push the House of Representatives to address the fiscal cliff, make them raise taxes
This is crucial.
Obama should start negotiations with the GOP by making it clear that stepping off the fiscal cliff is preferable to any deal that does not eliminate or reduce the Bush tax cuts for the super-rich.
He does not have to face reelection, and higher taxes on the wealthy will not be a problem for the 2016 Democratic candidate.
We may never get another opportunity to cut the bloated Pentagon budget, and we face no credible military threat.
Democrats in Congress can immediately introduce legislation to ameliorate the impact on lower and middle income folks. If the GOP thinks holding the middle class and the economy hostage to ever greater income transfers to the wealthy is a winning strategy, let them face the electorate on that basis in 2014. This fight is about more than fiscal matters in 2012--it's about stopping hostage taking by a minority party of ideologues.
He spent most of his first term seeking bipartisan accords with the TP-dominated GOP reps. It's time to play hardball. He must not start negotiations by offering compromises before place settings are even on the table.
Harry Reid is fond of the dance or fight (and his preference for dance) metaphor--but the GOP won't dance until you draw some blood.
"If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you can collect a lot of heads."