This is really no surprise – when you have one party in agreement talks that refuses to consider making the wealthy pay their fair share and wants to lay the burden on the lower and middle class, how can a fair agreement be made? If there is no room for compromise, there will be no deal.
From NY Times:
Called away from dinner tables, the Jets-Patriots game on television and, in one case, a soccer team party, several Democratic members of thespecial Congressional committee on deficit reduction raced to the office of Senator Patty Murray for a hasty 8:30 meeting to discuss the outlines of a potential agreement. Crucially, it appeared to have the backing of at least one Republican on the 12-member panel even though it included a tax increase.
As the members spoke, they began to see the outlines of a deal, tentatively agreeing on tax rates, revenues, spending cuts and changes to Social Security and Medicare, according to interviews with members of the committee and their aides.
Whether the committee could reach the finish line was very much in question, but at least it was in sight, for the first time in the nine weeks the group had been meeting.
It disappeared almost as quickly.
