The fiscal cliff battle is already over, and the Republicans have won it

It seems the tax cuts opposed by Democrats in the '70s, '80s and '90s have all but been embedded into Democratic theory and political strategy today. In effect, the GOP has won nearly the entire tax argument. Democrats, on the other hand, have won the Medicare and Medicaid debate by the same extent. Now it's just a matter of reaching a bargain to iron out the last few details to avoid the fiscal cliff.