memeorandum: U.S. Budget Deal Is Sealed (Wall Street Journal)

10:20 AM ET, January 1, 2013

Top Items:

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Tentative Deal Is Reached to Raise Taxes on the Wealthy — WASHINGTON — Furious last-minute negotiations between the White House and the Senate Republican leadership on Monday secured a tentative agreement to allow tax rates to rise on affluent Americans, but the measure was not going to pass …

Discussion: The National Memo, American Prospect, Outside the Beltway, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos and Althouse

Politico:

Senate clears fiscal cliff deal 89-8 — Congress lost a mad, New Year's Eve dash to beat the fiscal cliff deadline, cinching a deal with President Barack Obama to raise taxes on the wealthy and temporarily freeze deep spending cuts but failing to get it through both chambers before midnight.

Discussion: CNN, The Daily Beast, ABCNEWS, Taegan Goddard's …, ABCNEWS and Prairie Weather

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

Senate Passes Tax Increases on Wealthy Americans — WASHINGTON - The Senate, in a pre-dawn vote two hours after the deadline passed to avert automatic tax increases, overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday that would allow tax rates to rise only on affluent Americans …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Ross Douthat, Daily Download, ABCNEWS and Weekly Standard

Leigh Ann Caldwell / CBS News:

It's official: Deal reached on “fiscal cliff” — As revelers in Times Square and cities and towns across the country wait for the ball to drop to ring in the new year, politicians in Washington have announced that a ball is not likely to drop on the average taxpayer.

Discussion: Firedoglake, Associated Press, his vorpal sword and TalkLeft

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Focus now turns to the House — The House returns to work on the first day of the new year, and will have to sort out its reaction to a Senate-passed bill meant to avoid the fiscal cliff. — The Senate bill, which the upper chamber approved in a 89-8 vote at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Jennifer Bendery / The Huffington Post:

Fiscal Cliff Deal Reached: White House, Hill Leaders Agree To Delay Sequester By Two Months … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Harry Reid , John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama , Barack Obama , Video, 2012 Fiscal Cliff, Harry Reid Fiscal Cliff, US Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff 2012 …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, New York Post, AMERICAblog, Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes' and Post Politics

Suzy Khimm / Wonkblog:

Your fiscal cliff deal cheat sheet — The White House and the Senate have finalized the details of their deal to avert the fiscal cliff. The bill basically follows the framework that came out earlier this afternoon from the McConnell-Biden talks, with key additional details.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Budget Deal Is Sealed — The White House and Senate Republicans are closing in on a budget compromise that would raise tax rates on couples making more than $450,000 a year, increase taxes on large inheritances and extend unemployment benefits for a year.

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, PoliPundit.com, American Power, Washington Wire, CNN and The Daily Dish

Mollie Reilly / The Huffington Post:

Fiscal Cliff: Live Updates On Congress, White House Negotiations … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Barack Obama , Congress, Barack Obama , Video, Politics News, Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff Deal, Fiscal Cliff Live Updates, Fiscal Cliff Negotiations, Fiscal Cliff Talks, Fiscal Cliff Updates, Obama Fiscal Cliff, Politics News

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Hullabaloo

David Brooks / New York Times:

Another Fiscal Flop — Over the course of the 20th century, America built its welfare state. It was, by and large, a great achievement, expanding opportunity and security for millions. Unfortunately, as the population aged and health care costs surged, it became unaffordable.

Discussion: Right Wing News and The American Conservative

Ian Swanson / The Hill:

Senate to hold New Year's Eve vote on Biden-GOP fiscal cliff deal — The Senate will vote on legislation to extend tax rates on annual income under $450,000 on New Year's Eve. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the vote would be held after a Congressional Budget Office score …

Discussion: Post Politics

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Here's what Republicans really hated about Obama's news conference

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Booman Tribune

Sabrina Siddiqui / The Huffington Post:
Obama Fiscal Cliff Remarks Spark Republican Threats To Blow Up Deal

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, CNN and Michelle Malkin

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Why the White House thinks it's winning the ‘fiscal cliff’

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Brad DeLong and Mother Jones

USA Today:
Washington poised to go over ‘fiscal cliff’

Discussion: Firedoglake and Associated Press

Jared Bernstein / On the Economy:
The Cliff Deal in the Offing

Discussion: New York Times, Rational Irrationality, Free exchange, The Fix, Robert Reich and Angry Bear

Nancy Cook / NationalJournal.com:
Fiscal Compromise Would Set Stage For a New Year of Mini-Cliffs

Discussion: naked capitalism, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's … and National Review

Amie Parnes / The Hill:
Obama says fiscal-cliff deal on taxes ‘in sight’ but not done yet

Discussion: Reuters and Politico

Paul Krugman:

Conceder In Chief? — OK, I've had my own sorta-kinda briefing on the apparent fiscal cliff deal, and I'm pretty much with Noam Scheiber. Viewed on its own, it's a bad and upsetting deal but not as terrible as initial rumors had it. But the strategic consequences are likely to be very bad indeed, and in very short order too.

Discussion: Hullabaloo, The New Republic and The Reality-Based Community

Noam Scheiber / The New Republic:
Democrats' Cliff Compromise Is Bad; But the Strategic Consequences Are Disastrous

Discussion: Firedoglake, Talking Points Memo, CNN, Washington Examiner and New York Magazine

Matthew O'Brien / The Atlantic Online:
The Estate Tax Is a Huge Giveaway in the Fiscal-Cliff Talks

Discussion: Politico, The Huffington Post and Hullabaloo

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
The case for the Dems' negotiating strategy

Discussion: Progressive Change …, Booman Tribune, PostPartisan, CNN and Hot Air

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
McConnell's Latest Gambit Is A Big Tax And Debt Limit Tell

Discussion: Daily Kos

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:
Republicans Lash Out At Obama, Even As Fiscal Cliff Deal Close At Hand

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Caller, CNN and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Fiscal Cliff Deal Growing More Likely, Would Raise $715 Billion In Revenue

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The American Conservative, CNN, Post Politics, New York Magazine, The Plum Line, Daily Download, Firedoglake, The Maddow Blog, Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Mashable!, theGrio and New York Times

FRANCE 24:

Tunisians urged to spurn New Year greetings — AFP - A preacher from the hardline Salafist movement that has achieved growing prominence in Tunisia since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings told Tunisians on Monday that the exchange of New Year's greetings was un-Islamic.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Reuters:

Clinton suffers clot behind right ear, full recovery seen — (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suffered a blood clot in a vein between her brain and skull behind her right ear but is expected to make a full recovery, her doctors said on Monday in a statement released by the State Department.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Atlantic Online

The European / The European Union Times:
Clinton Injured, US Navy Seal Killed In Secret US Mission To Iran

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, KTLA 5 and NBC Politics

Don Kaplan / NY Daily News:

Political commentator Sean Hannity was one of the big losers in the 2012 election — The right-wing Fox News host lost half his audience in the weeks after Obama's win — Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity had predicted President Obama would lose in a landslide.

Discussion: The Mahablog, Salon, The National Memo, Politico and The Hinterland Gazette

Suzy Khimm / Wonkblog:

Obama's wrong: This ‘cliff’ deal still raises taxes on the middle class — This afternoon, President Obama spoke while surrounded by an ad hoc group of “middle-class Americans” who he promised would be protected from tax hikes by the 11th-hour “fiscal cliff” proposal. That's not what's going to happen.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Plum Line, U.S. Senate Republican …, Business Insider, TalkLeft and Post Politics