No Christmas Unless Fiscal Cliff Deal Happens

Eric Cantor launches war on Christmas

A budget crisis wouldn't really be a crisis unless it ran up against a much-loved American holiday season.

Thus the Fiscal Cliff has only truly reached the status of dire national emergency today, with Eric Cantor's announcement that Congress won't be able to take a holiday break until a "credible solution to the fiscal cliff has been found."

The House was due to start its recess on Dec 14, but Cantor said firmly, "that is no longer the case." Congress will officially still be in session the week of Dec 17-21, and perhaps even longer.

Republican congress members who don't want to compromise are already planning to dig in for the holiday season. "Some people were like, 'Let's book hotel rooms and bring our families out here because we're not going to fold our tent and give in,'" Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) told WaPo.

As you all know, Congress and Obama are attempting to strike a deal to avert the massive spending cuts and ~$2,000-per-family tax hikes set to kick in on January 1, 2013.

Via the Washington Post and Politico.

Will threatening Congress members with no holidays force a solution?

[martydotcom]

If the unnamed loophole to be closed and the unnamable cut in entitlement spending would only step foward and make themselves known maybe deal could be done.

[AceLuby]

Lol... so true.

[bsking]

hey McConnell offered yesterday to vote on Obama's plan and reid declined the vote.
that shows everyone that Obamas Planned could not even get support from the Democrats he has never intended to negotiate anything .
his intentions have always been to raise everyone's taxes even the poor.
he is a miserable excuse for president but just perfect for his miserable party

[RobertJHarsh]

Isn't Cantor Jewish?

[DARSB]

Yes, he is - and it looks like he's ready to stay in DC over Hanukkah AND Christmas.

[martydotcom]

and your question, a piecing glimpse into the obvious, is relevant? why?

[RobertJHarsh]

@martydotcom Obviously Cantor wants to screw up everyone's Xmas break since it won't affect him! Duh!

[talkenhed]

@RobertJHarsh just a snide comment
as stated by pp
Hanukkah is irreligious irrelevant ??

[RobertJHarsh]

@talkenhed I look at all religion to be irrelevant....for I am an atheist. And my comment was supposed to be sarcasm...something seeming to be lost on many who frequent this fine political site.

[PNWest]

For once I agree with Cantor. Keep these bozos in session until they reach agreement.

[Fishbone345]

Agreed. Boo hoo, they might have to work. I work it every year.

[Citrus93ta]

No pay either . how are any of them collecting pay check with the cliff coming and oh yeah 17 trillion in debt Senete no budget in 4 years? and we keep paying them ? they do work for us

[marine1]

silly boy

[Middleman]

Better yet how about we cut off all there pay and perks until they get a massive deal done... See how fast they figure it out... Bunch of jacka$$z

[AceLuby]

An agreement is not going to happen. The GOP won't give in for ideological reasons and the DNC won't give in because a lot of the 'fiscal cliff' are things they actually want and the things they don't like can be fixed after the cliff. We should all simply prepare for this scenario as it is the most likely one to occur.

[jessejaymes]

That's my take on it.

[jessejaymes]

The working class is between a rock and hard place here. This is power politics at it's worst. The GOP is holding the working class hostage to the rich tax cuts and we will end up paying more for it. If we go off the cliff is to the advantage to the Dems because they will immediately pass a Senate bill reinstating the middle class cuts and the House GOP will defeat. This is all about party politics and taking back the House for the Dems. Either give the middle class their tax cuts or lose the House in 2014. I think he lets us go over the cliff then tries to back door the single thing back in which saves us 2,000 but we get shafted everywhere else. Dems take less away.

[Ashstop]

@jessejaymes
Lets hope the GOP keep a backbone and doesn't fold! They were elected to balance the budget and no more taxes, some people think just because they don't have to pay more taxes then its ok, to let others pay for it, Obama's plan just puts a temporary bandaid on the problem, it's time to get serious and stop this death spiral !!!

[jessejaymes]

@Ashstop You GOP are going to lose this one. As neither a Republican or a Democrat my prediction is you lose.

[Ashstop]

@jessejaymes
Not just me then, the whole country, we can't spend our way out of debt

[DerivePI]

Even with an additional $2,000 in revenue from every family, Obama's average annual deficit of over $1 trillion will still be putting us into the hole by about $3,000 per year or $12,000 per year per family of four. Merry Christmas!

[DerivePI]

$3,000 per person per year

[DerivePI]

"And if you look over your left shoulder, way off in the distance back there, you'll see the fiscal cliff. Now brace yourselves for our well anticipated crash landing. Hope you fly with us again."

[jessejaymes]

Hollow threat. Congress is not required to be present and in their seats during scheduled session. They'll just leave. They do anyhow.

[artjeb]

If so, Just what are they good for ? causing a act of deriliction of duty ?
Those jokers are supposed to work for the tax payers..
Either they should work or get the hell out

[jessejaymes]

@artjeb Ya think? LOL

[Denizen_Kate]

@artjeb - IMO most reps and senators would need a dictionary to look up the word duty.

[Sharpshooter]

Like someone will ACTUALLY keep them in DC? Of course, Der Fuhrer is living in the White House so as usual he's not going to be put out.

I'm most certain however that he'll dress up like Tiny Tim and post for a photo of himself "reflecting" on how tough it's going to be for his subjects to deal with their country falling off a fiscal cliff.

[sabbatical]

No Christ No Christmas / No Obama No Fiscal Cliff

[twinertia]

What a bunch of drama mamas! Just slap a beard on it and laugh when the whole thing fails to work and the next bunch of yahoos tries faking it.

[Rocker]

That does it.......... No Santy Claus for them!!!!

[Dan_Tien]

@Rocker It's too bad that there is no Sanity Clause for them. There would be a few who were out of a job.

[Rocker]

@Dan_Tien - Ain't that the truth.

[Keyjo]

I doubt it. Until those dumb a$$ Tea Party dunces are cleared out, there will be a failure to cooperate.

[David944]

I feel the same way about the socialists and communists that have taken over the democratic party. I used to be a democrat.

[Keyjo]

@David944
So was Reagan.
Myself, I've never claimed kinship to ANY political party.
But I'll call your socialists and communists and raise you by a handful of plutocrats and theocrats.

[AceLuby]

@David944 The fact that you use socialists and communists interchangeably and compare them to Democrats, who are as far away from that as the GOP is from Anarchy, shows you don't understand what those words mean. They've been thrown around as scare words since 1945, and it's easy to get rid of differing opinions if everyone is scared of them. Propaganda 101.

[David944]

@AceLuby I no the difference and one is just as bad as the other. We are heads to a social democratic nanny state just like Europe. The communist are happy with that at this point but they will keep pushing. That’s what people voted for.

[Keyjo]

@David944
I'd just like to point out that people in those "social-democratic" European nations rank higher on the "happy scale," and enjoy a much higher quality of life over all.

[NO-BAMA]

It wont matter at all. Barry and his socialist family will go on another taxpayer funded vacation while American citizens are continuing to suffer while he schemes to take as much as he can from ALL legal hard working citizens and give to his "dependent" followers.
One good thing about it though, Barry can't make any "out of session" appointments to his crooked regime due to Congress still being in session.

[bsking]

all they have to do is toss it back to Obama and let him walk away and go over the cliff that's what he wants to do anyways... should even Howard Dean said that. you can't deal or negotiate with a liar it's impossible.

[Vance1]

Obama and most democrats are atheists and Christmas doesnt mean a thing to them.
Except for they get time off.
They only way to deal with liberals is Just say NO to them. and even that they wouldnt understand.

[Cheenoguy]

Atheists enjoy Christmas because it is a special tradition spent with family and friends. Christians enjoy it for the same reasons they just falsely believe that it is Jesus' birthday.
Happy Saturnalia.

[PoliticalSpice]

Err....cantor is a repub, as are most those in the house who won't budge on this, so drspite your religious obligation to attack dems and Obama, in this case you really have no standing...

[formerrepub]

I think you all should stop putting your faith in these idiots and start concentrating on your local and state goverments, so we can start the process of changing this overgrown central monster that we the people created, into something that is more manageable!

[Dan_Tien]

""Some people were like,'Let's book hotel rooms and bring our families out here because we're not going to fold our tent and give in,'" Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) told WaPo." All on the taxpayer's dime, of course.

[DogLady_1]

Yes, the threat will force a decision that they will make in haste just so they can take the next plane out of DC in time to carve the ham... Wasn't it during Christmas when they voted to raiswe the debt ceiling? The Budget Control Act of 2011 is now law... what the heck are they arguing about? This is stupid! If they didn't like it, they shouldn't have voted for it!

[PoliticalSpice]

Voted yes. Not with conviction. But knowing the one thing the fools in congress agree on is that none of the problems in this country should effect them.

[stephen]

doc there pay

[Bobolinsky]

Related to the '"fiscal cliff" and the election and the future of the republican party and the Tea Party...

Was politix planning on doing story about the purge going on in the House?

Representatives who are alternately described as Tea Party Republicans and Fiscally Conservative Republicans being removed from committee positions like the Budget and Financial Services Committees...

Tim Huelskamp, Justin Amash rip Republican leaders
http://www.politico.com/story/2012/12/tim-hue...

MILLER: Establishment vs. Tea Party conservatives
Speaker punishes GOP members who don’t toe party line
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/...

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/fiscally-cons...

[PolitixMary K]

Hey @bobolinsky, I'm totally with you, that's an important story. We wrote about it yesterday, I don't know if you saw: http://politix.topix.com/homepage/3644-boehne...

[Bobolinsky]

@PolitixMary-- I did miss it. Any chance for an update?

[PolitixMary K]

@Bobolinsky Yes, I'd like to follow up on this, probably based on tomorrow morning's news. At the moment every new day brings fresh "fiscal cliff" machinations within both parties. Also we have something special lined up on Justin Amash coming out tomorrow, courtesy of Michael Mayday.