Some encouraging news from Greg Sargent at the Washington Post. It seems there was a meeting between major union and other progressive group representatives (AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU, MoveOn and others) and senior Obama administration officials at the White House today to talk about the fiscal bunny slope, aka fiscal cliff.
[A]ttendees at this meeting came away convinced — for now — that the White House firmly believes it has the leverage in the fiscal cliff talks, and has no intention of budging on the demand for higher tax rates from the rich or on other core priorities.
snip
The attendee tells me the White House is cool to the idea of going over the cliff, but added: “Would they if it’s between that and compromising their core principles? I was left with the impression that they would.”
“They remain in the same place: They expect taxes to go up on the wealthy and to protect Medicare and Medicaid benefits,” the attendee added. “They feel confident that they don’t have to compromise.”
Greg Sargent, The Plum Line.
The difference between 2010 (and 2011) with now is stark. With the election over, and the economy better than it was, President Obama has much more leverage with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts coming.
This is the right message to get out there. And I love that President Obama is campaigning on the road with his message.
We won and the Rs better get used to it.