Hi Omnivorous,
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.
Indeed. AND one could point out the the remaining GOP that the big losers in their party were TeaPoopers, their numbers have dwindled so their influence should dwindle.
If there is any kind of mandate it is that people do not want that kind of politics.
So walk of the purported "cliff" - take that step towards fiscal responsibility, then work on revising the tax code to a more just, simple system with few loopholes.
Enjoy.