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Governing is never a zero-sum game. That’s especially true when the political landscape is as divided as today’s is—on a single issue, both sides win and both sides lose; otherwise, nothing would ever get done. On this week’s Political Scene podcast, John Cassidy and Ryan Lizza talk with host Dorothy Wickenden about the way that dynamic played out during the latest battle in Washington—the fiscal cliff—as well as the outcome of that fight, and the economic challenges that face the newly-installed Congress. Listen now: http://nyr.kr/1321ivU
(Source: newyorker.com / The New Yorker)
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John Cassidy: An optimistic (and Clintonian) defense of Obama’s fiscal cliff deal: http://nyr.kr/WbaneO
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.
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Where, in the midst of a disastrous political farce, does a politician thinking about running for President want to position himself? At the center of the action, as the foil or the fixer, or as a comic-opera hero who enters shouting? There are times when it might also be better to stay offstage. In the final hours of the fiscal-cliff crisis, different potential candidates came up with different answers…
Rubio, Paul, Biden, Christie: Amy Davidson on how 2016 Presidential contenders play the fiscal cliff: http://nyr.kr/Uldd1g
Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin/AP. -
Republicans Apologize to Top 1.5 Per Cent→
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In the aftermath of the fiscal-cliff deal, Republicans in Congress issued a heartfelt apology to the top 1.5 per cent richest people in America, offering “messages of profound condolence” for allowing their taxes to increase slightly. Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/YTHeah
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"A negotiating process that started eighteen months ago with talk of trillions of dollars in deficit reduction ended in an agreement that will hardly reduce the deficit at all. From a historical perspective, indeed, the overall impact of the compromise is to bestow another big and costly tax cut on the American populace."
— John Cassidy on the fiscal-cliff deal as a tax cut for all: http://nyr.kr/YQZssI(Source: newyorker.com)
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Amy Davidson on how the cliff deal raises payroll taxes on low income & middle class—and internalizes GOP delusions: http://nyr.kr/WecEWG
Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
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We're Over the Cliff-- But Don't Panic→
Ryan Lizza on what the December 31st midnight deadline has obscured: “…the fiscal cliff negotiations will, in the end, solve only a small piece of our budget problems, and the next months will be dominated by similar battles. Happy New Year.” Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/10J7Akk
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Over the Cliff
John Cassidy on why there will be no great cause for celebration even if a fiscal cliff bill passes both chambers of Congress in the next day or two:
It’s a shoddy compromise that does credit to nobody involved, and it raises questions, once again, about President Obama’s willingness and ability to face down the Republican extremists.
Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/TCQlMr
Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty.
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Congress Collapses from Exhaustion After Doing Job→
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—The House of Representatives adjourned this evening after the legislative body collapsed from exhaustion brought on by hours of doing its job: http://nyr.kr/10Gx5TA
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John Cassidy: Where Did Obama’s Leverage Go?
With less than twenty-four hours to go until the January 1st deadline, it’s still anybody’s guess how the fiscal-cliff negotiation will end up. One thing is patently clear, though. President Obama isn’t going to get nearly as much out of them as he wanted or expected…
Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/VtZcP9
Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty.
