Grover Norquist's Fiscal Cliff

The Republican Party has created the concept of “Fiscal Cliff” because they can't cut tax rates. And I can understand their concern; 95% of them have signed Grover Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", that opposes increases in marginal income tax rates for individuals and businesses, as well as net reductions or eliminations of deductions and credits without a matching reduced tax rate.

They're stuck by that pledge. Obama knows that and nothing much is likely to happen. As Michael Moore proposes, we might be better off letting all of the Bush tax cuts expire on December 31, and then, on January 1, Obama could push a bill that would restore these same tax cuts for 98 percent of the public.

Would that be a face-saving strategy for the Republicans? Perhaps; at least, they could claim that they didn't violate their pledge but that it was forced upon them. In less than a month we'll see...