Senate Dems Warm to Tax Deal

After spending two days seething at the White House for making a deal with Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts on top income brackets, Senate Democrats are feeling a little less awful when they look at the specifics of the deal. White House officials have been making the rounds and fielding questions, while several top progressives, like John Podesta of the Center for American Progress, have spoken positively of the deal. Top Democrats say those endorsements are encouraging. Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat, said he “loathed” parts of the bill, but added, “I understand the predicament we’re in.” Vice President Joe Biden faced a tougher crowd in the House, where a two-hour session on the deal was filled with angry remarks from Democratic representatives who oppose extending tax cuts for the wealthy. Biden made it clear that the White House isn’t planning to change any major parts of the deal.