Did Democrats plan to go over the cliff all along?

[kpete]

Giving the appearance of movement in fiscal talks
By Steve Benen - Fri Dec 28, 2012 8:00 AM EST

........................

Putting aside all the posturing, press releases, and finger pointing, the fact remains that nothing has changed except the calendar. Republicans still don't intend to compromise, don't want to present specific ideas to further their own goals, and don't intend to act until the president negotiates with himself, coming up with a plan filled with preemptive concessions, predicated on guesses as to what GOP officials might find acceptable.

So what's the point of today's White House chat? I suspect one of two scenarios is true:

1. Participants have been very quietly working out the details of a compromise, and today's meeting is about sealing the deal while working out a legislative strategy. They're closer than is publicly known, and today, they'll try to work out the final details.

2. Everyone knows failure is inevitable, and there's no way a deal can be reached with Republican extremists, especially with so little time remaining, so today's meeting is motivated by theatrics -- they'll go through the motions so no one can say they didn't at least try to sit in a room and talk to one another.

If I were a betting man, I'd put money on the latter.



http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/12/28/16211670-giving-the-appearance-of-movement-in-fiscal-talks

[Agnosticsherbet]

1. Democrats planned to negotiate in good faith...

but planned for Republicans refusing to negotiate at all.

I don't see this as a win, because Republicans still control the Congress and their are many things the President can't do without the House. A dysfunctional government will continue to bite us in the ass until we elect a Democratic Congress, because Republicans have decided to do nothing.