If anyone outside the Beltway was paying attention (a big "if"), they probably thought the title referred to an old episode of “Cheers” in which the goofy mailman does his taxes. After all, replaying reruns would have been more compelling content than this latest installment of "Real World: U.S. Capitol."

Reality TV, of course, is this moment's perfect metaphor. That schlocky format's foundational oxymoron -- it is "real" but not real -- also defines contemporary politics.

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Boehner has been hearing it from both flanks of his caucus, with 151 members of his own party voting against the "fiscal cliff" deal, and Republican New York Reps. Peter King and Michael Grimm expressing outrage that Republican leadership failed to call a vote over Hurricane Sandy relief aid.

The Hill reported this morning:

Boehner could also face opposition from the four Republicans punished this month for bucking leadership. Reps. Justin Amash (Mich.), Tim Huelskamp (Kan.), Walter Jones (N.C.) and Dave Schweikert (Ariz.) were all stripped of their committee posts by the Boehner-led GOP Steering Committee, and they've been grumbling ever since.

There has been speculation that 17 Republicans could join forces and deny Boehner the majority he needs to become Speaker. House rules dictate that a lawmaker must receive a majority of the votes in order to get the Speaker's gavel. Republican lawmakers, including one who is not fond of Boehner, said no such effort is under way.

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Nick Carey of Reuters reports that in the Senate, Tea Party groups are eyeing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., Saxby Chambliss, Ga., Lindsey Graham, S.C., and Lamar Alexander, Tenn., all of whom are up for reelection in 2014.

"Many people here have watched Mitch McConnell's voting record and are dissatisfied with what they've seen," Eric Wilson, executive director of the Tea Party group the Kentucky 9/12 Project, told Reuters. "There are some potential candidates working in the background and doing the right thing."

"If a credible candidate comes forward, then Saxby Chambliss is in major trouble," said Debbie Dooley, a founder of the Atlanta Tea Party.

"I am over 90 percent certain that if there is a reliably conservative candidate in 2014 he will have my total support," Joe Dugan of the Myrtle Beach Tea Party in South Carolina also told Reuters.

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There's no way to know how bad or good a deal Democrats cut until the conflict they postponed is resolved, and we know what it takes to lift the debt ceiling, keep the government running and deal with the "sequester" – the combination of automatic spending cuts to defense and to social programs baked into the original debt ceiling deal back in August 2011.

As someone who believed, and still believes, that it was best for the country if Democrats stood up to Republican hostage takers and went over the cliff, I have to admit President Obama and his chief negotiator Vice President Joe Biden got some good things with this deal. Unemployment benefits were extended for 2 million Americans and so were tax credits that help the working and middle class. The deal also kept student-loan interest rates low. Lots of Democrats are also celebrating the fact that Republicans voted for their first tax-rate increase in 20 years. But since the White House got far less in revenue than it originally asked for, we'll see how great a concession that turned out to be, since the deal kept tax rates low for millions of wealthy Americans, and ceded crucial hikes on estates and investment income for the super-rich.

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“Go f— yourself,” Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present.

Reid, a bit startled, replied: “What are you talking about?”

Boehner repeated: “Go f— yourself.”

The harsh exchange just a few steps from the Oval Office — which Boehner later bragged about to fellow Republicans ...

I love those blushing em dashes, as if the four-letter word itself would scandalize Politico's hard-bitten audience.

Years ago Vice President Dick Cheney expressed himself similarly, addressing Sen. Patrick Leahy, D.-Vt.). While the remark made it into the press, it's fair to take Cheney at his word. The veep later congratulated himself for his bravado.

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In the House, 172 Democrats voted for the bill, with 16 who opposed it. Of the 16, nine lean more liberal, including Rep. Peter DeFazio, Ore., who explained:

While the Senate plan included an extension of unemployment insurance that will save benefits for over 29,000 Oregonians and an essential ‘doc-fix’ that will continue payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients, this ‘deal’ hinders our ability to deal meaningfully with the deficit and burgeoning debt and puts in jeopardy Social Security and Medicare in the coming confrontation over the debt limit.

Jim Moran, Va., also more liberal, argued that the bill just paves the way for three more showdowns over the budget:

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Now that the House has passed the Senate compromise bill, the full spate of tax increases and spending cuts that went into effect yesterday will be shut off (though the sequester was just suspended for a couple of months).  Still, I don’t mean to be a downer, but any relief you feel should be analogized to how much better you feel when you stop banging a hammer on your head.  We’ve avoided, for the moment, a self-made trap.  Now, of course, we’re on to the next one—the debt ceiling, which really is a cliff in that to go over it (can you “go over” a ceiling?) is to default.

The resolution of the fiscal cliff was much as I and others predicted—a very short trip over the cliff—more of a bungee jump, really.  As we said, once House R’s could label a vote for the compromise a net tax cut, enough of them could vote for it.  In fact, one of their leaders, Dave Camp (R-MI) sold the measure to his caucus as the “largest tax cut in American history.”

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Some say that it's not a bad deal on its merits, but we'll have to await final judgment until we see what happens with the debt ceiling, which has to be raised in the next two months. If the White House stands firm on its refusal to negotiate over the debt ceiling again, and doesn't give any more concessions, then we can look back at this deal as a pretty good one, on balance.

I suspect this will become the center-left conventional wisdom, and only dirty hippies will be bitching. So pass the patchouli, because I hate this deal.

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The plan that passed will raise $620 billion in revenue over 10 years and pay down the sequester for two months. It only got 85 votes from House Republicans, with 151 voting against it. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was one of the more notable yes votes, though House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., both voted against it.

And though the deal pulls the country back from painful fiscal cliff cuts, it's only temporary. The sequester is paid down for two months, not-so-coincidentally timed with when the government will reach its spending limit and Congress will have to vote to raise the debt ceiling.

From the AP:

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The vote was 257-167 -- a bipartisan vote, though it was led overwhelmingly by Democratic support.

Among Republicans, the vote was 151-86 against the compromise. John Boehner and Paul Ryan were among the minority of Republicans who supported the compromise; Eric Cantor voted no. That led to immediate speculation among pundits that Boehner's position as speaker of the House could be in doubt in the next Congress.

Weary lawmakers hoped to avoid a national "fiscal cliff" of major tax increases and spending cuts in a New Year's Night culmination of a struggle that tested divided government to the limit.

Passage sent the measure to President Barack Obama for his signature and handed him a political triumph less than two months after he secured re-election while campaigning for higher taxes on the wealthy.

"Everybody worked very hard on it and I appreciate it," Obama said, in a late night appearance at the White House.

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"I do not support the bill," Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., told reporters after Republicans held a lengthy closed-door meeting to gauge support for the compromise. Cantor is an influential leader of conservatives and younger Republicans in the House.

Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, and other participants said the overwhelming sentiment among House Republicans was to amend the bill to incorporate more spending cuts and send it back to the Senate. Several lawmakers and aides said such a move was likely, and on balance the GOP reaction seemed to seriously complicate efforts to enact a new law before the current Congress expires on Thursday.

"The speaker and leader laid out options to the members and listened to feedback," said Brendan Buck, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The lack of spending cuts in the Senate bill was a universal concern amongst members in today's meeting. Conversations with members will continue throughout the afternoon on the path forward."

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The vote was an overwhelming 89-8 and came well after midnight on New Year's Day.

A House vote is expected before Wednesday.

The White House-backed legislation would prevent middle-class taxes from rising, and raise rates on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples.

It also blocks spending cuts for two months, extends unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, prevents a 27 percent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and prevents a spike in milk prices.

A last-minute addition would also prevent a $900 pay raise for members of Congress from taking effect in March.

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Austerity

It's coming. Congress will obsess over crafting a long-term deficit deal no matter what happens with the tax rates and the sequester. In all likelihood, we'll get regressive budget cuts at all levels of government, plus, for good measure, tax hikes not just on the rich but on working people. The well-funded "Fix the Debt" monsters will still demand massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Republicans are justifiably confident that they can use the debt ceiling to force more spending cuts less than a month from now. If all of this sinks the still-sluggish economic recovery, that'll be just one more sign that we need to cut more, and "tighten our belts." Plus the debt ceiling fight might just crash the world economy anyway.

Congress Isn't Going to Do Anything

As historically unproductive as the 112th Congress was, there's not much reason to expect more from the 113th. The Senate has gotten marginally more liberal and the House has gotten marginally less Republican, but the basic makeup of both is the same. It's still the case that House Republicans have no incentive to compromise on anything, while Senate Democrats live to compromise.

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Following  weeks of hysteria, numerous news outlets are reporting that the House of Representatives may nDATEot even vote on a fiscal cliff deal before the tax hikes and spending cuts take effect at midnight tonight.

Here's CNN's take:

The reason is partly about process, but the benefit is political.

House GOP sources said the main reason the House is not likely to vote before the deadline is because the deal is not yet done, and it still has to go through the Senate–which takes time.

GOP leaders prefer to vote in broad daylight, sources said, instead of in the middle of the night.

"There is no difference in voting at 2 a.m. than tomorrow at 4 p.m.," one of the GOP sources said.

GOP sources admitted there is an added benefit to the Senate's delay: taxes would already be up, so lawmakers could argue that they are voting for tax cuts, as opposed to tax increases.

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Employees in Rhode Island will see the biggest gains as the state voted to raise the minimum 35 cents per hour to $7.75. This translates into a bump of about $510 per year for the average worker. Nine other state minimums are climbing automatically as the result of laws that peg the minimum wage to increases in the cost of living.

CNN:

An estimated 855,000 workers will be directly affected by the wage changes, while another 140,000 are projected to be indirectly affected by the changes as employers readjust their pay scales to accommodate the new minimum, according to analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.

The new hourly rates will range between $7.35 in Missouri and $9.19 in Washington state, which has the highest minimum wage in the nation.

Workers may not notice much of a change in their paychecks, though, if lawmakers do not extend the payroll tax cut first enacted in 2010. Without the tax cut in place, workers would pay 6.2% instead of 4.2% -- an amount that could wipe out most of the wage boost.

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Speaking before an appreciative audience his tart speech lightly mocked Congress and emphasized that any deal would include tax hikes on the rich and some types of spending cuts.

Watch (The speech begins at the 49 minute mark.):

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First, there's what might be called the windy cliff. In 1992 the government created a production tax credit to incentivize the use of clean, domestic wind power.  The subsidy is a 2.2 cent credit per kilowatt hour of energy produced over ten years, amounting to about $1 million per large turbine. Since the initial credit was enacted, it has been renewed seven times and has been allowed to expire three times.

The tax credit expires for the fourth time at midnight tonight. That's too bad for fans of clean, domestic power since this tax credit works. It has been in place since 2004 and U.S. wind generating capacity increased almost six-fold between 2006 and 2011 and now accounts for about three percent of electricity generation nationwide.

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President Barack Obama flew back to Washington from Hawaii after telephoning congressional leaders from his Christmas vacation perch. Once back, he set up a meeting with leaders of both parties at the White House late Friday to make a fresh attempt to find a solution before Monday night's deadline.

A look at why it's so hard for Republicans and Democrats to compromise on urgent matters of taxes and spending, and what happens if they fail to meet their deadline:

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NEW YEAR'S HEADACHE

Partly by fate, partly by design, some scary fiscal forces come together at the start of 2013 unless Congress and Obama act to stop them. They include:

— Some $536 billion in tax increases, touching nearly all Americans, because various federal tax cuts and breaks expire at year's end.

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Aides to Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell presented the Social Security proposal, which included a method of calculating benefits with inflation. The plan would lower cost of living increases for Social Security recipients. Democrats were swift to reject the offer.

A Democratic aide told ABC News that the proposal was a "poisoned pill" in the current negotiations. However, it should be noted that President Obama has suggested a similar proposal within the context of negotiations on a broad deficit-reduction deal. Such a measure had been taken off the table in discussions over a scaled-back, short-term agreement.

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