DAY'S END ROUNDUP

FROM THE BLOGS:

The Fed is making the fiscal cliff problem worse
The White House is is proposing a deficit-reduction deal that would help the middle class through lower tax rates, but Republicans oppose the plan, writes Slate's Matthew Yglesias.

Rubio and the mirage of Republican renewal
Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) mention of an "opportunity gap" isn't a sign of renewal within the Republican Party, argues Daniel Larison at The American Conservative.

Do we really need to start the 2016 election already?
According to Mother Jones’s Erik Kain, only a month has passed since the 2012 election, and the media has decided that to turn focus to a new issue — who will run in 2016?

Conservatives actually suck at this
If conservatives really want a shot at not getting pushed out of top committee spots, they need to focus on getting some major players elected in 2014, according to RedState.com’s Erick Erickson.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Lawmakers to White House: Don’t be cheap on Hurricane Sandy Aid
According to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the $50 billion in disaster aid for Hurricane Sandy that the Obama administration is planning to ask Congress for is “totally inadequate,” reports The Hill’s Erik Wasson.

Centrist Dems lying low on deficit negotiations to avoid 2014 backlash
Looking towards the 2014 elections, many House Dems from GOP-leaning states are trying to avoid making controversial statements about avoiding the fiscal cliff, reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton.