Reid and McConnell work to reach fiscal cliff deal by Sunday

[Draggingtree]

The Hill:

Reid and McConnell work to reach fiscal cliff deal by Sunday

By Alexander Bolton - 12/28/12 10:00 PM ET

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) are working on an agreement to avoid across-the-board tax hikes and plan to show it to colleagues Sunday.

Senate leaders emerged optimistic from a Friday afternoon meeting at the White House with President Obama, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.). Vice President Biden and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also attended.

Obama told reporters late Friday there is still time to reach a deal.

“I just had a good and constructive discussion here at the White House with Senate and House leadership about how to prevent this tax hike on the middle class and I'm optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time,” he said in a live statement to the press after which he declined to take questions.

[Draggingtree]

Fiscal cliff update: nothing happened today

 

 

By: John Hayward

12/28/2012 05:14 PM

Updated 6 p.m.: At today's meeting, and despite much advance hype to the contrary, President Obama reportedly repeated his demands for tax increases on every couple and small business making over $250,000 per year.

[Draggingtree]

Sure sounds like that fiscal cliff summit ended badly; Update: Obama wants vote on his plan if Senate can’t reach deal

 

posted at 5:10 pm on December 28, 2012 by Allahpundit

 

No comment yet from the Republican side, but I’m thinking … this doesn’t bode well:

 

Frank Thorp V@frankthorpNBC

 

Boehner staffers arrived back at the Capitol and said @SpeakerBoehner is not coming back here today.

 

Pelosi said afterward that she thought the meeting was “candid” and “constructive” and “moved us forward, so yeah — bad vibes galore.

Oh, and contrary to this morning’s expectations, Obama reportedly did not plan to float a new offer at the meeting. His strategy was to ask Boehner, McConnell, Reid, and Pelosi for a viable counterproposal and, if none was offered, to then request an up-or-down vote on his old offer of tax hikes on earners who make $250,000 or more. Which makes sense: As I’ve explained ad nauseam, he really has no incentive to compromise before January 1. He’s now basically daring Boehner to let the GOP caucus vote down his plan before Tuesday http://hotair.com/archives/2012/12/28/sure-sounds-like-that-fiscal-cliff-summit-ended-badly/

[Rheo]

Push Reid over a cliff, please!

[Valin]

We at Schloss Valin are fully prepared for this, barbed wire & mine fields laid, artillery zeroed in, larder stocked with raman noodles, Mountain Dew, coffee and donuts.

 

Gosh I hope no one gets the impression that I think nothing good will come from this. The very people who got us into this mess are now going to get us out. What could possibly go wrong? I am sure they will come up with a wizbang of a plan!

some sarcasm may be persent