President Obama declares “Peace in our time!” O wait...

That was British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain when he got back from talking with the Germans, just before the Germans went to war with England. Chamberlain believed he was negotiating with reasonable people. 

President Obama is just way too much like Neville Chamberlain to negotiate with Republicans. He needs to tap Richard Trumka as his primary negotiator. Richard Trumka knows what Republicans are made of. I like this ad:

"This fight is not going to be won by the president taking a step towards Boehner, Boehner taking a step toward the president, the president taking a step toward Boehner, Boehner taking a step toward the president and so forth until they meet in the middle," Damon Silvers, policy director at the AFL-CIO, told Ezra. "That hasn't worked before. Boehner doesn't take the steps. It will be won by the president clearly siding with the American people on tax fairness and preserving the safety net from benefit cuts."

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A shift in posture, a sense of 'weakness'

Republican Gladiators Fight to the Death

The battle over the "Fiscal Cliff" does not include any Democratic fighters. Democrats are enthusiastic spectators watching Republican Gladiators fighting each other to the death in the "Fiscal Cliff" Arena.

Extremist Teabagger Republicans are fine with going over any cliff if it harms government, the government they vow to "drown in a bathtub". They are fine with going "over the cliff" even if it means that Republicans never win Congress, the Senate, or the Presidency again.

The Teabsggers understand the unpopularity of the things they do. Most a expect to be one term Congressmen. They want to destroy the Federal Government in that one term they have. It doesn't matter if they drown the Republican Party in that bathtub along with government.

So it's the Teabagger Republican Gladiators vs. the Wall Street Republican Gladiators in the Republican Party's fight to the death over the "fiscal cliff".
Democrats are the cheerful fans in the Coliseum with their thumbs turned down.