Are Republicans wavering ahead of the fiscal cliff?

Look out, because here comes the fiscal cliff, and as crisis-mode builds up, Republican resolve against raising taxes may be dissipating.

Sort of. There may be some signs of bipartisan wheeling and dealing in the Senate, where more than a dozen GOP senators could concede to raising taxes on the rich, granted that Democrats give up a lil' something something, too (stopping sequestration of defense funds, entitlement reform, etc.).

But, as my colleagues John Aloysius Farrell and Major Garrett write in National Journal Daily, there is this political reality to contend with:

Any expectation that President Obama and Congress can reach a comprehensive deal in the coming lame-duck session must be tempered by an equally unassailable fact: There is, as yet, no corresponding movement in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Indeed, Republican resistance to higher taxes in the House may be emboldened if--as analysts now predict--the party retains control of the chamber in November. The House Republicans have argued, loudly and consistently, that tax hikes hurt job creation and have voted to extend the Bush-era tax cuts while Congress works, in the coming year, on comprehensive tax reform.

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