A new CNN/ORC poll finds 53% of the country has an unfavorable view of the Republican Party and only 42% want to see congressional Republican have more influence than the president over the direction the nation takes in the next two years. And seven in ten say the GOP has not done enough to cooperate with Obama.

All of that helps explain why more Americans would blame the Republicans in Congress rather than Obama if the fiscal cliff provisions actually go into effect next year, 45% to 34%.

“I will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country, only if Democrats will do entitlement reform.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in an interview on ABC News, on his willingness to break his pledge not to raise taxes.

As Congress faces negotiations about averting the “fiscal cliff,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) told WMAZ-TV that he’s not willing to be bound by the anti-tax pledge he once signed.

Said Chambliss: “I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge.”

When asked if he thought anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist would hold it against him during his next re-election bid in 2014, he said he probably would.

“But I don’t worry about that because I care too much about my country. I care a lot more about it than I do Grover Norquist.”

Wonk Wire has the details of an emerging framework for compromise.

The Week: “In the wake of President Obama’s re-election, the Republican Party’s reigning anti-tax ideologue is getting some rare push-back from his associates.”

Greg Sargent: “Some leading liberals and Dems are hoping the White House — if the fiscal talks break down — will prove willing to let us all go over the fiscal cliff and let all the Bush tax cuts expire. That way Dems could return in 2013 and pass the tax cuts for those under $250,000 again — the Obama tax cuts for the middle class! — while leaving taxes on the rich at Clinton-era levels.”

However, the AP reports that the White House regards this idea “frostily.” 

Leading lawmakers expressed confidence that they could reach a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff” even as they laid down markers on taxes and spending that may make any agreement more difficult, Reuters reports.

“Republicans and Democratic leaders have agreed on a framework to reform the tax code and government benefit programs next year, but first need to prevent across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts due to begin in January that could push the economy back into recession.”

Wonk Wire: Time for the Obama tax cuts?

Congressional leaders said they have agreed to a fast-paced negotiation process to broker a deal to avert the “fiscal cliff,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“In an unusual display of bipartisanship, the four congressional leaders addressed reporters jointly after meeting with President Barack Obama. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said White House and congressional staff would work together next week to begin sorting through details, and suggested they could all reconvene in two weeks.”

Bloomberg: How Obama is taking control of the fiscal cliff debate.

President Obama “is kicking off budget dealings with congressional leaders with new leverage from last week’s big win, but he confronts a decidedly tricky path to avoiding a market-rattling ‘fiscal cliff’ that could imperil a still-fragile economy,” USA Today reports.

“Obama’s GOP rivals promise greater flexibility on new tax revenues, but Democrats face pressure from liberal interest groups urging the president to take a hard line and avoid cutting big benefit programs like Medicare and food stamps. It’s up to Obama to navigate the course toward an agreement.”

New York Times: “After years of wrangling, members of the bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Eight are ratcheting back expectations for a deficit reduction breakthrough and now say the best they can probably do is offer ideas for the one fiscal negotiation that will truly matter: talks between President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner that begin in earnest on Friday.”

Wonk Wire: Another U.S. credit downgrade looms.

“Some Republican governors are softening on the party’s hard-line toward tax increases for the wealthy, suggesting that GOP congressmen at least be open to rate hikes in exchange for a comprehensive fiscal agreement on taxes and entitlements,” Politico reports.

Said Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R): “The people have spoken, I think we’re going to have to be [flexible] now. Elections do have consequences. The president campaigned on that.”

Wonk Wire has the chart of the day.

First Read: “They’re willing to give up additional REVENUES; they just don’t want to see tax RATES go up. The two sides actually aren’t that far apart. The question is whether they can agree on a revenue target for tax reform. That’s Step 1; Step 2 is how the temporary agreement is forged regarding the tax rates for 2013, sequestration, payroll tax, etc. The White House’s view: If you let the Bush tax rates expire for the Top 2%, it makes negotiating the issues surrounding sequestration (even the farm bill!) a lot easier. But the hurdle is big: getting the votes in the House. No Republican wants to vote for a tax RATE hike; it’s likely a primary suicide mission.”

“Ironically, the GOP may end up giving the president and Democrats MORE cover on taxes by agreeing to a revenue goal within tax reform, essentially, covering up tax hikes while the politicians can claim they’ve lowered tax RATES. Ah, the politics of the now vs. the politics of the long term. It’s the GOP’s challenge in managing its own base right now.”

Financial Times: Republicans shift stance on taxing the wealthy.

Wonk Wire: Romney adviser calls for raising (some) taxes.

President Obama “will begin budget negotiations with congressional leaders Friday by calling for $1.6 trillion in additional tax revenue over the next decade, far more than Republicans are likely to accept and double the $800 billion discussed in talks with GOP leaders during the summer of 2011, the Wall Street Journal reports.

A new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll finds that most Americans think President Obama and House Republicans will fail to reach an agreement in time to avoid the fiscal cliff, 51% to 38%.

“Amid a global fright over Washington’s political brinkmanship, U.S. lawmakers return to the capital on Tuesday with a seven-week deadline to reach agreement on scheduled tax hikes and budget cuts that threaten to trigger another recession,” Reuters reports.

“The post-election battle over the so-called fiscal cliff is shaping up as an extension of the political campaign with Democrats trying to rally support for raising taxes on the wealthy as part of any deal, and Republicans countering that such an approach would devastate ‘job creators’ across the country.”

Wonk Wire: Will 2016 hopefuls sink a grand bargain on the nation’s debt?

Wonk Wire sees signs the GOP might be willing to bargain in order to avoid going over the “fiscal cliff.”

As President Obama begins budget talks to avoid the fiscal cliff, the New York Times notes he “will not simply hunker down there for weeks of closed-door negotiations as he did in mid-2011, when partisan brinkmanship over raising the nation’s debt limit damaged the economy and his political standing. He will travel beyond the Beltway at times to rally public support for a deficit-cutting accord that mixes tax increases on the wealthy with spending cuts.”

Wonk Wire: What is the fiscal cliff anyway?

Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol urged the Republican Party to accept new ideas, “including the much-criticized suggestion by Democrats that taxes be allowed to go up on the wealthy,” the Huffington Post reports.

Said Kristol: “It won’t kill the country if we raise taxes a little bit on millionaires. It really won’t, I don’t think. I don’t really understand why Republicans don’t take Obama’s offer.”

He added: “Really? The Republican Party is going to fall on its sword to defend a bunch of millionaires, half of whom voted Democratic and half of whom live in Hollywood and are hostile?”