Americans say that they will blame the GOP if America tumbles over the fiscal cliff. Drum’s read on the situation:
Politically speaking, President Obama’s main job is to keep things this way. Republicans pay a price for their anti-tax jihad only if the public blames them for the ensuing catastrophe. But if Obama sticks to reasonable asks—modest tax increases, modest spending cuts, and a debt ceiling increase—and pounds away at Republican intransigence, these numbers aren’t likely to shift much.
McArdle thinks Democrats will also take a hit:
Of course, Democrats can go on the stump and explain that it is all the GOP’s fault for forcing us over the fiscal cliff. I, for one, would certainly pay cash money to watch Democrats spending much of their valuable campaign time and ad money explaining to voters that tax increases destroy the economy. Whatever effect this might have on voters, it would certainly be entertaining for the pundit class …
I’m sure that Republicans will take a lot of heat if they let us go over the fiscal cliff, especially from their donors and their base. Which is why I assume it won’t happen. But if it does, I suspect that Republican chances in 2016 get better, not worse.
I guess I find the entertainment of pundits less worthwhile than actually doing some sane trivial things, like a return to the top Clinton tax rates, and entitlement and tax reform. Right now, the GOP is not acting like a national party seeking the best for the public interest. They are acting still as purists in gerry-mandered safe districts, focusing entirely on their faction’s ideology, and playing chicken – they’re laughing at a re-elected president’s proposals, backed by a majority in polling – as if they were in a sandbox, instead of holding the entire global economy to ransom. The idea that we should be thinking about which party can make the most hay out of this, rather than fixing the fucking problem, is part of the fucking problem. Can’t we just get this over with? Or is the GOP’s fever actually rising after this election?
The Dish 
