GOP Caves On Bad Fiscal Cliff Bill

From Fox News: Congress gave its final approval Tuesday to a bill halting massive tax hikes and delaying a risky round of spending cuts, sending the package to the president’s desk and likely averting for now an economy-stalling fiscal crisis. President Obama said he would sign it.

The 257-167 vote in the House came after a day of high drama on Capitol Hill, during which conservative House lawmakers voiced serious concern about the Senate bill’s lack of spending cuts. Rank-and-file Republicans initially predicted they would tinker with the package, raising the possibility the Senate would abandon it and nothing would get done before the new congressional class is seated Thursday.
But House leaders soon learned they did not have a majority behind any spending-cut plan, and allowed the straight vote. Far more Democrats supported the final bill than Republicans. 
The result, once Obama signs it, is that tax hikes that technically kicked in Jan. 1 for most Americans would largely be halted....

The bill passed by Congress would nix the 2013 tax increases for families making under $450,000, while letting rates rise for those making above that threshold. It would also extend unemployment insurance for another year, while patching up a host of other expiring provisions and delaying automatic spending cuts for two months. Those cuts, which would hit defense heavily, will instead be offset with a blend of tax increases and other spending cuts.
Americans will still see a 2-point increase this month in their Social Security tax, as Congress did not opt to extend that payroll tax holiday....
House conservatives had begun voicing frustration Monday night about the lopsided ratio of tax increases in the plan, as compared with net spending cuts. The bill contained roughly $620 billion in tax hikes, and just a fraction of that in spending cuts. As one House Republican told Fox News, "I can’t imagine a ratio such as that warming our fiscal hearts."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/01/house-approves-fiscal-crisis-bill/#ixzz2GnDyf2Lg
The GOP, if they were smart, and they are not, they should have scrapped the deal, dismissed Congress and start again with the new Congress.  Then they should have come back with the new Congress, put forth the tax cuts, restore some, but very few spending cuts, cut the payroll tax etc.
But, as I have said, the GOP is not that smart or brave.