As we witness the failure of the Super Committee in real-time, it's important to remember that a failure on the part of the committee is a victory for Democrats.
Why?
Because if the Super Committee does not agree to anything, the current baseline, which includes an expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts, will remain intact.
As I explained months ago, John Boehner tricked his caucus into voting for a budget as a part of the debt-ceiling deal which includes an expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts. It was a possibility the Super Committee would extend the cuts permanently as a part of a larger deal, but we now know that to be highly unlikely.
The highly ironic, and hypocritical, thing is that a failure of the Committee would appear to be the most beneficial outcome if you're really concerned about the federal deficit. The Bush Tax Cuts are the single largest contributor to the federal deficit, as the graph above clearly demonstrates, and the Republicans have been fighting tooth and nail to extend them.
President Obama is not a dummy, nor is the Democratic leadership in congress. They knew the Republicans would never sign off on genuine tax increases, therefore the only way to achieve that was through trickery. And if the Super Committee fails, President Obama's "Rope-a-Dope," as Lawrence O'Donnell called it, will have come full-circle.
The Media and the Republicans will both spin this as some sort of "both sides" shenanigans, but make no mistake, this is a win for Democrats. And for their part, the Republicans' hypocrisy on the matter is immeasurable.
Update... as of 5pm EST 11/21 the Super Committee has officially failed