McConnell clears the way for more revenue hikes

Annoying as it is to hear Mitch McConnell declare that Republicans will not agree to any further revenue increases, I am pleased to note him intoning this party line regarding the fiscal cliff deal:

Look, this was not a tax increase,

That's true, insofar as at the time the deal was enacted, the Bush tax cuts had expired, and the deal reinstated about 85% of the cuts. If restoring a portion of the foregone revenue was not a tax increase, then neither is restoring more of it. If you accept all negotiations this year as an adjustment within the frame of the Bush tax cut expiration (which, okay, McConnell and co. don't), that gives Obama and the Democrats another two trillion-plus over ten years in running room for future negotiations.