Progressives Increasingly Confident That Obama Won’t Cave On Fiscal Cliff Deal

[DonViejo]

Progressive activists afraid that President Obama would sell them out in budget negotiations with the GOP are breathing a little easier this week after some reassuring words from top Democrats.

An array of liberal and labor groups are currently running pressure campaigns out of longstanding concerns that the White House will cede too much ground in a deficit deal. And while they aren’t planning on disarming anytime soon, several activists told TPM that they’re cautiously optimistic that Democrats are heading into battle with the right goals and the leverage to obtain them.

“I think most people are buoyed by the fact the president seems intent on sticking with his demand that taxes go up on the top 2 percent even if it means going over the cliff,” Bob Borosage, president of the Institute for America’s Future, told TPM. “He’s been stronger than I might have anticipated.”

Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress haven’t gone wobbly either.

Liberals were surprised to find themselves cheering on Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) this week as he argued before the Center for American Progress that Democrats should resist benefit cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and keep Social Security out of the negotiations entirely. Durbin, the majority whip, is a leading Democratic supporter of the Simpson-Bowles debt commission, which liberal groups denounced as a nightmare solution to the long-term deficit, so his words carry special weight.

-snip-

more:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/11/liberals-back-away-from-ledge-as-democrats-approach-fiscal-cliff.php?ref=fpa

[Lasher]

1. Senate's No. 2 Democrat calls for cuts to social safety net

At the same time, Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, tapped his ties to the liberal wing of the party to urge a broader deficit deal in 2013 that would include trims to Medicare and other entitlement cuts.

"We can't be so naive to believe that just taxing the rich will solve our problems," said Durbin, speaking at the influential liberal group called Center for American Progress. "Put everything on the table. Repeat. Everything on the table."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014320390

And there's this:

Obama Is Flexible On Highest Tax Rates

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama signaled he wouldn't insist tax rates on upper-income Americans rise to Clinton-era peaks as part of a deficit-reduction deal, showing new flexibility as he tries to accelerate talks with congressional Republicans.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014320333

New flexibility.

[Kablooie]

2. We felt this before - then he caved.

The situation is different now of course, the right has lost it's bite, but Obama has consistently drawn clear firm lines in the sand before and then stepped right over them.

Will this be different?
I hope so but there are still reports that he's considering giving in again.
Until this thing is over l can't feel optimistic that he will act differently from the past.

[leveymg]

3. TPM can be such a tool.

[forestpath]

4. They must have missed Plouffe's statement.

[forestpath]

6. I hope that fucker is on the table when he is up for reelection.

[Filibuster Harry]

8. Hey people be sensible. Spending cuts (not social security) as well as tax increases have

to be on the table in order to solve this. You need both. You cannot make a deal for the sake of making a deal. Medicare age cannot be increased. But you can make medicare more efficient without cutting benefits.
Cuts to medicaid, as well as cuts to the military have to be on the table. Tax increases 31% to 35% and from 36% to 39.6% are needed. If compromise then increase to 33% and 38% respectively with lower spending cuts but something has to be done by BOTH sides.