US Politics Analysis: Explaining the Fiscal Cliff and the Battle Over the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge"

Republicans are aware that President Obama has momentum on his side for increased tax revenues during the fiscal cliff discussions, but they believe that history and principle are on theirs. Will some of them break the Pledge to ensure that a compromise is reached? That has far more to do with if and how Democrats assure them over spending cuts than it does with media stories about their loyalty to one Grover Norquist.

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US Politics Feature: Can a Senator Named Coburn Cut $9 Trillion from the US Government's Debt?

Washington has a notoriously Byzantine manner of getting things done, but if his new subcommittee is ordered to write out new legislation reforming the tax code as part of a super-committee deal, Senator Tom Coburn will wield enormous influence. After all, he has a comprehensive plan ready to go. If that is the scenario that ultimately plays out, it will be fascinating to see the response of special interests, business lobbyists, and advocacy groups --- can they maintain their hold over a Congress newly determined, and chagrined after the nation's credit downgrade, to begin finding a long-term solution to America's debt problem?

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