So What Comes Next?

The House Republicans pulled their so called plan B bill for dealing with the fiscal cliff last night. It did not have the votes to pass. There were some Republicans who refused to back it, and the Democrats all refused to vote for it.

The irony of the situation is amazing. The main parts of plan B were taken from a proposal pushed by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer last year. Now, they both denounce it as a "political ploy". Does that mean that when they were pushing it, it was a political ploy? Not according to them.

Everyone in Washington knows that no fiscal cliff plan that raises taxes can pass the House without some support from the Democrats. There are just too many GOP members who will not vote for plans the result in taxes being higher in 2013 for anyone. They want spending cut, not taxes raised. But the Democrats have not been trying. The Senate just adjourned and went home for Christmas. Harry Reid announced that even if plan B passed, the Senate would not even be allowed to consider it. President Obama has gone back to his usual negotiating style of not really making proposals. He makes speeches and talks about outlines, but he never gets to the actual details. For all of that, the media is silent; there is no criticism. But now the House has adjourned until next week and the torrent of articles blaming them for the impasse is on us.

The truth, however, is that it seems pretty clear that the goal of the Democrats is to go over the fiscal cliff.