Dems have own fiscal cliff issues

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November 19, 2012

Dems have own fiscal cliff issues
Posted by Staff

Politico reports:

Democrats are confident that an Election Day mandate will deliver a fiscal cliff deal that raises tax rates on the rich.

Perhaps a little too confident.

Republicans may be reeling from their Nov. 6 drubbing, but Democrats have their own internal issues heading into the high-stakes talks — and they’re not insignificant.

By most accounts, President Barack Obama’s win and the party’s strong showing in Senate races gave the Democrats a leg up in the negotiations to avoid across-the-board tax hikes and draconian spending cuts set to kick in Jan. 1.

Yet getting a deal that raises tax rates for the wealthy may not be so easy for the party, and not just because of inevitable GOP resistance.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will have to find 60 votes to extend just the middle-income tax rates — far from a given when a swath of the Senate’s moderate Democrats are up for reelection in 2014.

11/19/12 6:04 PM

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