Some at least say so and let's hope they really are because they should be. The country clearly sides with them. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain by jumping if the GOP is being obstructionist again.
"A growing bloc of emboldened liberals say they’re not afraid to watch defense spending get gouged and taxes go up on every American if a budget deal doesn’t satisfy their priorities."
"Here’s what these progressives fear: an agreement that keeps lower tax rates for the wealthy, hits the social safety net with unpalatable cuts and leaves Pentagon spending unscathed. In other words, they’d rather walk the country off the cliff than watch President Barack Obama cave on long-held liberal priorities."
“If the Republicans can’t see their way to significant additional revenues targeted toward the people who are best off and targeted toward passive income and other things like that, then we’re better off going over the cliff and readdressing this with a better Congress in January,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said. “And we would have plenty of time to fix it.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84207.html#ixzz2DM5q0tBG
The effects won't be immediate.
"Bolstering the Democrats’ strategy is the belief that the “fiscal cliff” is actually shaped more like a “slope” where the economic effects will be felt gradually, not immediately. That theory gives Congress some time at the beginning of 2013 to set tax rates and configure budget cuts in a different political environment and with a new class of lawmakers."
If they do go over the cliff there will be time enough to pass another tax cut-without the tax cuts for the top 1%. The prominent economist, Mark Zanid, has gone as far as saying this could even be the best option. Warren Buffett has also urged them to be willing to jump if need be.
"If tax rates snap back to the higher levels from the 1990s and painful budget cuts start to hit the Pentagon, these Democrats — led by Washington Sen. Patty Murray — believe they would wield more leverage over the GOP to enact a budget compromise on their terms. And with a January deal, Republicans would technically avoid violating the no-new-taxes pledge that most of them have signed because they would then be voting to cut taxes."
What they must bear in mind is that the country supports them. That was what this election was about and the polls show that if we do go over it's the GOP who will take the blame.
"Republicans would most likely bear most of the public blame if policymakers deadlock. The Pew Research Center found that 53 percent of Americans would fault GOP lawmakers if Washington fails to avert the fiscal cliff; only 29 percent would point the finger at Obama."
“This is very, very important that we hang in there to essentially get the revenue component,” said Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.). “I favor an agreement before Jan. 1, but I’m skeptical that our leadership may be able to reach one. If it’s necessary to wait to get a good deal, let’s do that.”
Yes. Let's do that. A bad deal is worse than no deal. Yes, it's possible that everyone could see their taxes rise-if the GOP honestly even next year refused to cut taxes for the 98%. Yet, I for one, and I think many Americans now feel this way, are just over the GOP's hostage taking and ransom letters. As Krugman put it "Well, this has to stop."
It does, And I'd be willing to pay more taxes to see that it does. It's not just the economy but our very system of government that's been taken hostage. It has to stop.
Between the need to take a strong stand here-no bad deals just to get something done-and filibuster reform the Dems have two big challenges to begin to repair our terribly dysfunctional government. Conservatives like to say that "government does not work" but they've proven this by holding their hands on the scale whenever Obama and the Democrats have tried to do anything.
Now, it has to stop.
For more on filibuster reform see here
http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-beat-goes-on-gop-threatening.html
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