[Ibby]

There is only one immediate downside to going off the cliff: unemployment insurance checks may stop going out between now and a deal. Every other change can be retroactively fixed.

Now, the Democrats have even more leverage. Polls show that the nation blames the republicans for obstructing, not the democrats. We'll see a deal in the next five days, i promise you - and it'll be a deal that, while not ideal, will reflect an actual compromise, not the stupid move-the-goalposts-further-and-further-right compromise we've seen so much of lately.