Obama and the Dems are going to be twisting in the wind over where their cuts will come from. Defense hawks are already at work making sure the cuts don't impact vital defense programs; the libs will scream and squeal until it's too late to come up with a smooth transition; their base will be on them for the mess they end up having to resort to on the domestic side.
Also, yes the top 1% got a tax hike because we are never going to get 100% of what we want...naive to think that will happen. Meanwhile 99% of Americans got PERMANENT tax cuts extended. Plus a PERMANENT AMT fix which was a constant problem for years. These are things that the Dems never wanted. Their dreaded Bush tax cuts are now law for the vast number of Americans.
The GOP has been unsuccessful in getting any entitlement reform. I understand their frustration: they don't have the White House or Senate. With neither of those playing ball, the game is dead and we are in big trouble.
But the Republicans are making a huge mistake by splitting the party between pro-defense "hawks" (as you call them) and the tea party "burn it all down then" (as I will call them) members.
Even liberals and liberal media now acknowledge that the economy suffered serious setbacks last quarter because of Defense cuts. I have news for everyone - those cuts were BEFORE Sequestration. They were part of the $450 Billion over 10 year cuts that started in 2011.
Google this subject and find out that I am not exaggerating when it is predicted that between 1 and 2 million jobs may be lost next year due to Sequestration.
Do we need cuts? Yes. Should Entitlements be cut? Yes. Are Entitlements exempt under Sequestration? Yes. Is Defense unfairly targeted by Sequestration? Yes (17% of budget yet 50% of the cuts).
Defense hawks are already at work making sure the cuts don't impact vital defense programs; the libs will scream and squeal until it's too late to come up with a smooth transition; their base will be on them for the mess they end up having to resort to on the domestic side.
I don't know what headlines you are reading, but I see none of this transpiring. I see the exact opposite.
As for the taxes, there was some positives there, but all in all a negative because Congress has already spent the entire year's tax hikes on one pork bill (Sandy).
That is obscene.