The pressure is building on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to strike a deal with President Obama.
One example comes from former Speaker and current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who yesterday gave Boehner a bit of unsolicited advice:
Do you know what it was like for me to bring a bill to the floor to fund the war in Iraq?...It's tough, but you have to do it. If you don't want to put your members on the spot: figure it out. We did. Figure it out and then go forward and continue to debate the issue.
It may not be surprising that Nancy Pelosi expressed that frustration, and apparently she's not alone. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that 70% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans want their party leaders to reach compromise on the fiscal cliff debate - even if it means departing from traditional positions on taxes and entitlements. In fact, 76% of Americans accept raising tax rates on the wealthy (and notably, 61% of Republicans agree).
But perhaps the most discouraging statistic for Speaker Boehner and Republicans: Americans trust the President to handle the fiscal cliff over the Speaker, 38-19%. (28% trust neither, and 14% trust both equally).
Will pressure from the public force Washington's hand? Or will partisanship and electoral politics send the country over the cliff? We'll discuss that question and many more when Joy Reid guest hosts NOW today at noon ET on msnbc.
PANEL
Nicholas Confessore, The New York Times (@nickconfessore)
Joan Walsh, Editor-at-Large, Salon.com/msnbc Political Analyst (@joanwalsh)
Maggie Haberman, Sr. Political Reporter, POLITICO (@maggiepolitico)
Rana Foroohar, Assistant Managing Editor, TIME (@ranaforoohar)
GUESTS
Mary Kay Henry, President, Service Employees International Union (@marykayhenry)
REPORTER
Luke Russert, NBC News (@lukerussert)