Following his meeting with Congressional leaders Friday, President Obama declared he was "modestly optimistic" a deal could be reached to avoid the January 1st "fiscal cliff." But if Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell can't come to an agreement, the President announced he would demand an up-or-down vote on a stop-gap measure extending unemployment benefits for two million jobless Americans and providing tax relief to 98 percent of taxpayers.
Given the GOP's current 242 to 193 advantage in the House, that means it would only take 25 Republican representatives to join their Democratic colleagues to avert a $4 trillion, 10 year tax increase on all Americans. (After the new session starts in January, the needed tally will drop to 17.) Those 25 GOP votes to end the Bush tax cuts for the richest two percent shouldn't be too much to ask for. After all, in 2001 28 Democratic Congressmen and 12 Senators voted to enact the Bush tax cuts in the first place.
Despite losing the popular vote in 2000 and facing a 50-50 Senate, President Bush and Vice President Cheney claimed a mandate for their $1.3 trillion tax cut package. As Bush put it to Congressional leaders on December 18, 2000, "I think all four standing here understand that I campaigned on a clear view of tax relief, and that's what I'm going to bring to the floor of the House and the Senate." Cheney, as usual, was blunter:
"There is no reason in the world, and I simply don't buy the notion, that somehow we come to office now as a, quote, 'weakened president.' [...] We've got a good program, and we're going to pursue it."Which is pretty much what transpired.
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