Free Republic

Rep. Paul Ryan says Republicans need to stay united and pick their fights during President Barack Obama’s second term. … Ryan defends his vote on the “fiscal cliff” deal. He says that if the measure hadn't passed, every single taxpayer would have paid higher taxes. …

In his first weekly address of the New Year, President Obama touts the "fiscal cliff" compromise as "one more step in the broader effort to grow our economy and shrink our deficits" but warns that another "manufactured crisis" over the debt ceiling could wreak havoc on the economy.

Anyone still need a reason to abandon "grand bargains" and deals negotiated between this President and GOP Congressional leaders? Here it is: The revival of two dormant provisions of the tax code means the much ballyhooed $450,000 income threshold for the highest tax rate is largely fake. The two provisions are the infamous PEP and Pease, which aficionados of stealth tax increases will recognize immediately as relics of the 1990 tax increase. Those measures, which limit deductions and exemptions for higher-income taxpayers, expired in 2010. The Obama tax bill revived them this week. It isn't going to be pretty. Under...

When the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a Senate bill to avoid the fiscal cliff around 10:45 PM on Tuesday, it violated its pledge to allow three days for the public to read the legislation, a promise House Republicans made to voters before the 2010 elections. … In its Pledge to America document, House Republicans promised: “We will ensure that bills are debated and discussed in the public square by publishing the text online for at least three days before coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives. No more hiding legislative language from the minority...

The U.S. Senate voted 89-8 to approve legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff despite having only 3 minutes to read the 154-page bill and budget score. Multiple Senate sources have confirmed to CNSNews.com that senators received the bill at approximately 1:36 AM on Jan. 1, 2013—a mere three minutes before they voted to approve it at 1:39 AM. …

After a long day of fiscal cliff chaos, the House will finally hold a vote tonight on the fiscal cliff bill passed by the Senate early Tuesday. The decision to hold an up-down vote virtually guarantees passage of the bill, which would extend the Bush tax hikes for households earning under $450,000. that the bill will pass. For most of the day, House Republicans have said that they could not support the bill without spending cuts, but by Tuesday night it was clear that GOP leaders could not come up with the votes to pass an amendment to add those...

Good Morning/Afternoon, Today Is The Last Day Of The Rush Subs. Do Not Know Who Will Sub Today. Rush WILL Return Tomorrow. Enjoy Today's Sub. Happy New Year 2013!:)=^..^=

The deal to avoid the fiscal cliff is done as the House passed the Senate version in a late night session on Tuesday. The vote was 257-167. The fact that only 85 Republicans (out of 241) supported the deal calls into question Speaker Boehner's leadership in the next congress, although it is doubtful anyone has the fortitude - or the stature - to challenge him. All but 20 Democrats voted for the bill. Gone is the payroll tax holiday, which means 77% of American households will experience a tax increase in the new year. Taxes on dividends and capital gains...

President Obama and Senate leaders struck a bipartisan agreement late Monday to let income taxes rise sharply for the first time in two decades, fulfilling Obama’s promise to raise taxes on the rich and avoiding the worst effects of the “fiscal cliff.”The agreement, brokered by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), primarily targets taxpayers who earn more than $450,000 per year, raising their rates for wages and investment profits. At the same time, the deal would protect more than 100 million households earning less than $250,000 a year from income tax increases that are scheduled to...

BOEHNER ADOPTS PELOSI PLAN

<p>All at once, a “fiscal cliff” deal seems to be coming together. Speaker John Boehner’s latest offer doesn’t go quite far enough for the White House to agree, but it goes far enough that many think they can see the agreement taking shape.</p>