It is; but rightly so. That's because it would be yet another truly remarkable
milestone. Forget Reagan's "thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow
Republican" canard. For more than a
generation "NO NEW TAXES!" has been the GOP's true "11th
Commandment." Not since the George H.W.
era has a Republican president or member of Congress voted to raise taxes. It's a pre-Grover Norquist orthodoxy that for
many years has helped the GOP win election
after election both locally and nationally and which they used
to run on in 2012.
But Obama was equally
unequivocal in his pledge to raise
taxes and won another four year term.
Thus, it was a fairly significant moment recently when House Speaker
John Boehner conceded
that "revenues" -- i.e., tax increases -- will be part of deficit
reduction negotiations. And since
Boehner's concession, a number of other influential Republicans have indicated
their willingness to cave.
"I actually think it has
merit, where you go ahead and give the president his 2 percent increase " the
rate increase on the top 2 percent," stated
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee on the December 9 broadcast of ABC
News' "This Week".
On that same show, Oklahoma Sen.
Tom Coburn asked
of himself : --will I accept tax increases as part of a deal to
actually solve our problem?" Coburn's
answer: "Yes."
A sense of inevitability also exists
among those who reside in the deepest recesses of the conservative movement's counter-reality
funhouse.
"I don't think there's a
Republican alive who could stop what's gonna happen," admitted
Rush Limbaugh during one of his early December broadcasts.
Even Ann Coulter (aka, Satan's
b*tch-kitty) is prepared to throw in the towel. Asked by Sean Hannity -- who on his own
volition remains entrenched in the fun bubble -- whether Republicans should
"give in" to Obama on the tax rate, she
replied , "Well, yeah, I guess I am."
Indeed, the times, they are a-changin'
and with it has emerged the politically chancy concept that will play a
significant role in that change -- the fiscal cliff. It extends
back to the off-putting debt ceiling fandango of 2011, which now appears to be
another case of the president's adversaries coming to a political chess match
armed with a rigged checker board, a brand new box of checkers, and nary a hint
of a strategy.
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