NYT Reports That Senators Are Working On A Fiscal Cliff Deal — And Paul Krugman Is Already Furious

[ProSense]

17. Krugman should be pissed, but

that NYT article reads like it's pushing Simpson-Bowles than actually reporting on any plan or anything current. It strings together a whole bunch of previously known information.

It quotes Reid, but that's in relation to not extending the Bush tax cuts, which is really curious.

With both sides awaiting the outcome of the election, negotiators will not even try to determine how much money would come from the three components until after the voting, when, presumably, the victorious side would emerge with new leverage.

<...>

House Republicans, favored to retain control regardless of the presidential and Senate results, have not been part of the Senate talks so far and could be difficult to sway to back a package with significant new revenue even if it wins bipartisan Senate support.

Democratic leaders are already signaling a major stumbling block: they will accept no deal that extends Bush-era tax cuts for the rich, even for six months.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/us/senate-leaders-at-work-on-plan-to-avert-fiscal-cliff.html

That makes no sense. First, if they're waiting on the "outcome of the election," why would they be working out a framework?

Secondly, that part about House Republicans seems to imply that Republicans are going to do something different if they retain the House.

Thirdly, the Bush tax cuts expire automatically. Discussing what the new Congress would do about it is ridiculous.

Lastly, this:

The two parties will have only weeks to reach an agreement between Election Day and Dec. 31, and they remain far apart on some fundamental issues besides tax cuts for the wealthy. House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio says he will not accept any deal that raises tax rates or “decouples” the Bush-era tax rates by extending some but allowing others to expire.

What's the rush and how does this fit the waiting for the "outcome of the election" claim?
If they're going to be working with the same Congress, why would the negotiating position change? The tax cuts automatically expire. It's not a bargaining chip for Republicans. They have nothing to bargain with.