Fiscal cliff deal reached – here are the details

[truebluefan]

Depending who you talk to, the fiscal cliff deal reached between President Obama is either a wise deal by the Dems, or a sell-out. I’m still digesting it, but am happy to share a diversity of views.

The Gist of the Fiscal Cliff Deal

First the deal. Jennifer Bendery at the Huffington Post has a good summary, that matches what I’ve been told privately:

Under the deal brokered by Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Congress would extend the Bush income tax cuts below the $450,000 threshold, keep the estate tax threshold at $5 million and extend unemployment benefits. It would also temporarily delay the sequester — i.e., billions of dollars in across-the-board spending cuts — for another two months.

The deal still requires buy-in from members of both parties, and Biden was set to meet with Senate Democrats Monday night to try to sell them on the package. That could prove challenging given that key progressive groups, including the AFL-CIO, made it clear earlier Monday that they would oppose any deal that raised the income limit for extending the Bush tax cuts above $250,000.