UPDATE: I just got a call from someone in the White House who is knowledgeable about the negotiations, and the White House denies that any deal has been struck to kill the DADT compromise, and that, rather, they are still fighting for it. (We were mostly talking about DADT, so I can't speak to the other issues.)
FURTHER UPDATE: Sam and Ryan have updated their story to include the following:
"Both the White House and Senate Democrats stressed that any compromise on tax cuts would not affect efforts to push two other party priorities -- the DREAM Act and Don't Ask Don't Tell. But even then, there was doubt on the Hill that the other provisions could be passed by the time Congress left for recess."I worry that the WH is working out the grand compromise with the Rs, and even if they leave DADT and DREAM out of it, that in essence kills them anyway. It's kind of like leaving legislation out of a Senate Unanimous Consent agreement. You can argue you didn't kill the legislation you left out - on the contrary, you didn't even mention it! But the result of not mentioning it is that it's not part of the final deal, so there's no other chance to make it happen. What other legislation will the Republicans let the Senate pass than legislation that is included in this deal? The DADT can be just as easily killed with silence.
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Sam Stein and Ryan Grim have the story, but we've been hearing rumors all over town that the White House has pretty much caved on everything. It seems clear that Democrats on the Hill are permitting this story to get out in order to give the White House some spine. Whether it's true or not is unclear. But ask yourself: Would you be surprised if President Obama caved in a negotiation?
More from Sam Stein and Ryan Grim:
The deal Democrats fear will be pushed by the White House would give the GOP a two-year extension of all tax rates. In exchange, Republicans would allow for an extension of unemployment benefits for a yet-to-be-determined period. Democrats would also get smaller tax provisions that they have been pushing for this past year, such as the Make-Work-Pay tax credit. They would also secure a vote on the START Treaty, a nuclear non-proliferation pact with Russia.
"All of this could change rapidly," said one top Hill aide. "It is clear the White House has been pursuing the strategy for the last 24 hours or so. The question is how will it be perceived in the caucus?"
The sense from aides privy to past talks was that such a deal would simply not be enough for such a retreat, considering that what Republicans would be "giving up" [permitting the START treaty to be ratified] originated with President Reagan. "The idea that Republicans would give us a vote on their fucking treaty--I mean, this was Ronald Reagan's treaty, we're just extending it--is crazy," said one top Democratic aide. "We have the White House and the Senate. Why should they get their top choice when we aren't?"And of course, DADT is dropped as a part of this deal.
And get ready for your heads to really explode. Who do you think is negotiating for "our side" with the Republicans? Treasury Secretary Geitner.
