An Emerging Working Congressional Coalition?

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I think it's possible, perhaps probable. I also think it's the most overlooked byproduct of the 'fiscal cliff' negotiations. I also think this means that President Obama has more leverage in upcoming fiscal negotiations than many progressives are willing to admit or have yet come to realize. Allow me to explain.

Boehner Is Weak

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John Boehner will probably go down as one of the weakest Speaker of the House in history.  He has absolutely no control of his caucus.  Altho... the most you can be sure of when trying to organize crazy people is that if you put sticks in their hands they'll trash the place. So Boehner, who can't save himself, expects to be saved by President Obama.  Republican Leadership is an oxymoron. 

Boehner: If my taxes go up, so will yours.

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House Speaker John Boehner today rejected a proposal from former NRCC head Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) to extend existing tax cuts for middle class Americans, primarily because Boehner (and other wealthy Americans whose incomes have been going up while everyone else's has been going down) doesn't get a piece of the tax cut action.

Mandate — With the GOP Taking the Blame for Failure

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I'm talking about the fiscal cliff discussion -- which I've decided to call the fiscal con, from a renaming effort that NPR had for this thing. The WaPo and Pew took a poll asking people what their expectations are on the outcome and who would be at fault for the failure of any talks. By a margin of 51% to 38%, those polled do not think that the fiscal cliff discussions will be productive. And if they fail, the folks polled will point the finger at the GOP 53% to 29% (10% blaming both sides equally). Even better -- majorities seem to understand what is at stake for themselves and for the country.

The Economy Speech — President Obama Speaks Live at 1:05 Today

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President Obama is speaking today at 1:05 about the economy and (presumably) about the so-called "fiscal cliff" that will roll back the Bush tax cuts and implement serious cuts to several government agencies (including the DOD). Remember throughout all of this -- the GOP and their Democratic deficit hawks have been publicly hand wringing about too much spending and too big deficits. Just letting these two things happen put a substantial dent into both. That's just basic math. There's not many hints as to where President Obama will take this conversation, but there are some hints.