Five post-Thanksgiving fiscal cliffhangers

Make no mistake: This sleepy, turkey and stuffing-fueled week will give way to a frenetic pace during the month of December.

The big question: Will the post-election bi-partisan glow fade once the negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff go from theoretical to the real deal?

The quartet of Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi sounded notes of optimism last week after their meeting with President Obama at the White House, but there are also signs of bumps in the road.

As Politico's Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Carrie Budoff Brown reported last night: "The opening round of negotiations this week between White House and senior GOP congressional staffers left both sides pessimistic about their ability to reach a quick deal on averting the fiscal cliff, according to sources familiar with the talks. Hill Democrats say Republicans aren't serious about crafting a deal that President Barack Obama can accept. The GOP's opening offer, the sources said, would freeze the Bush-era tax rates, change the inflation calculator for entitlement programs, keep the estate tax at 2012 levels and authorize a major overhaul of the tax code -- although they did not provide a revenue target."

We're likely to see another meeting between the Congressional leaders and the president at the White House before long, and here are The Note's five things to watch for when lawmakers return to Washington after Thanksgiving:

THE OUTSIDERS: We've heard little to nothing from the outside groups that bankrolled much of the 2012 election. We would suspect that the Club for Growth, Americans for Prosperity and other such groups are soon going to make their voiced heard on any potential fiscal cliff deal. Tim Phillips, the Americans for Prosperity head, recently took a hard-line on tax increases in an Op-Ed for TownHall.com: "Raising taxes is not only bad for Americans and the economy; it also fails to address the government spending crisis. We must balance our budget by reducing spending. Congress has already made the tough choices by determining to cut $109 billion from the budget, now it just has to stay the course and make sure the cuts happen."

NOT THEIR CUP OF TEA? As we've noted before, the fact that the Tea Party class of 2010 has been so quiet is rather surprising. Will they remain as compliant once the outlines of a deal come to light?

THE BULLY PULPIT: Will Obama play a more hands on role? Will we see him more active behind the scenes or will he retreat to his familiar stance of allowing Congressional leadership do the heavy lifting? Last week, The New York Times also reported that the president might "occasionally" make campaign-like stops around the country to sell a deal to the American people.

RYAN'S ROLE: And speaking of key players, erstwhile vice presidential hopeful Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., is also expected to play an important role in the negotiations. As the Washington Post notes, Ryan, along with Reps. Dave Camp and Fred Upton were tapped by Speaker Boehner to be on the GOP's core team of fiscal cliff managers. "Republicans want their best players on the field during the fiscal cliff conversation," veteran GOP strategist Ron Bonjean told The Post. "If Paul Ryan decided not to participate, it would squander his political capital rather than enhance it."

WITHER GROVER? Can long-time anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist hold his coalition together or will the lame-duck negotiations signal his waning influence? Hundreds of Republican members have signed the Americans for Tax Freedom's chief's pledge not to raise taxes, but as The Los Angeles' Times Doyle McManus notes today: "an increasing number of Republicans are sidling away from Norquist's pledge and reassessing their resistance to any kind of tax increase."

Get more pure politics at ABC News.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-five-post-thanksgiving-fiscal-cliffhangers-151107194.html

arpaio carol burnett neil degrasse tyson neil degrasse tyson davy jones death born this way foundation lytro camera