Tag: fiscal cliff

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Fiscal cliff drama continues

From ThinkProgress: With four days left until the end of the year, President Obama will host the congressional leaders in the Oval Office today in hopes of reaching a compromise.

The House and Senate are back in session, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) refuses to take an up or down vote on a Senate-passed bill extending tax cuts to Americans earning less than $250,000 and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is now demanding spending cuts to pay for an extension to the federal unemployment insurance program that expires at the end of the year.

The Washington Post reports that McConnell “for the first time was engaged directly in talks with the White House. He signaled an interest in cutting a deal.”

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Fiscal cliff – where we’re at so far…

As President Obama continues to make clear he’s willing to explore ideas for compromise, Speaker Boehner is drawing lines in the sand.

A majority of the nation thinks the GOP needs to try harder to find middle ground:

• 53% say the GOP should compromise more, with 41% saying the Democratic Party should give up more of the proposals it supports to develop bipartisan solutions.

• 53% of those surveyed say they view the policies of the GOP as too extreme, up 17 points from two years ago. Only 37% say they view the polices of the Democratic Party as too extreme.

The same percentage of the public, 53%, believes that when it comes to bipartisan compromise, the GOP should be the party to cave on its demands.

Check out Speaker Boehner’s 30 second press conference:

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Poll: Republicans will bear more blame if “fiscal cliff” failure

Republicans will shoulder more blame than President Barack Obama if Congress fails to pass legislation to prevent automatic spending cuts and tax increases, known as the “fiscal cliff,” according to a new poll.

Fifty-three percent of adults said Republicans in Congress will be “more to blame” if an agreement is not reached, according to a new survey conducted by the Washington Post and the Pew Research Center Nov. 29-Dec. 2.

Only 27 percent of respondents placed more blame on the president and 12 percent faulted both the president and the GOP.

A party breakdown of respondents shows blame directed at the opposing party. But among Independents, Republicans received 52 percent of blame and the president received 21 percent.

A CNN/ORC International survey released last week indicated more Americans would blame the GOP in Congress (45%) rather than Obama (34%) if the fiscal cliff provisions actually go into effect next year.