And why should he?
He just won an election. He won 332 vs 206 of the electoral votes. He got 51% vs 47% of the national votes. 4 million more votes than Romney. He fared much better than Bush who beat Kerry by 286 to 251 electoral votes in 2004, a much smaller margin, with 51% to 48% of the national vote, also a smaller margin, and Bush claimed to have a “mandate” in 2004. If Bush had a mandate, Obama sure as hell has one now.
How do Republicans think they are going to negotiate if they have nothing to leverage? All the posturing and talk by Boehner and McConnell? What for? To make SuperPAC donors happy? To make Fox News viewers happy?
The president’s plan on the table right now is to save the middle class tax cuts and discuss the tax cuts to the wealthy (for earnings above $250K) later. A very plausible plan if we care about this economy and understand that an average of $2000 for a family means a lot to most families and will help stimulate the economy when they spend it.
The image below is from 2010, when Obama tried unsuccessfully to only extend the taxes for the middle class. But now, things have changed and Republicans need to recognize that.
Cross-posted at Immizen.com