The Price Of Republican Hubris

salon.com — President Obama has apparently decided what price Republicans should pay for their refusal to work with him the past four years: $800 billion. That’s the difference between the amount of new revenue Republicans put on the table in the summer of 2011, when they pushed the country to the brink of a debt default, and what Obama is now demanding as discussions over the gradual fiscal slope open. This, of course, speaks to the leverage with which Obama suddenly finds himself. There’s another reason for Obama’s superior bargaining position: Republican hubris.

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