With the Thanksgiving holiday over, lawmakers are finding there way back to Washington. On the minds of the U.S. Congress is the coming up with a solution to avoid the much talked about "fiscal cliff."

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are aware that in order to come to any type of agreement, that they will have to embrace measures that are sure to anger the base supporters of their parties.

An initial round of talks has already taken place between the Whitehouse and congressional leaders. No progress was evident during those post-election talks. But, as lawmakers return to Washington, more and more, both sides of the aisle are signaling that they are willing to put more solutions on the table to find a solution.

Republicans have begun to distance themselves from Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge. One of which is Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina. Graham announced on Sunday that he would be willing to violate the pledge to secure a deficit deal “for the good of the country.” He did follow that by saying that he would not agree to raise taxes but would agree to cap deductions in an effort to lower the deficit. Graham told ABC News, “So I agree with Grover, we shouldn’t raise rates. But I think Grover is wrong when it comes to saying we can’t cap deductions and buy down debt.”

Representative Pete King of New York agreed with Graham saying he would not take an “ironclad” position in these latest talks. King has said the world has changed since he took the Norquist pledge. He told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, “A pledge you signed 20 years ago, 18 years ago, is for that Congress. For instance, if I were in Congress in 1941, I would have supported a declaration of war against Japan. I’m not going to attack Japan today.” King went on to say, “The election is over, we have to show the world we are adults.”

Senator Saxby Chambliss from Georgia also said that he would violate the pledge if the Democrats would counter with significant entitlement reforms. He said while speaking at a radio station, “I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge.”

Grover Norquist took issue with King’s remarks, saying to CNN, “Peter King knows full well that the pledge he signed and others have, it’s for while you’re in Congress, it’s not for a two-year period. It’s explained to everyone when they sign, it’s in writing that it’s a commitment while you’re in the House or while you’re in the Senate. If you run for a different office, you sign it again.” Norquist said on CNN’s Starting Point that none of the signers of the pledge has broken it.

Norquist threatened Republicans saying his group would highlight those lawmakers that went back on their pledge, and would work to unseat those that did. Norquist has stated that the Republicans should take the “sequester” rather than compromise their pledge. Most Republicans disagree with that stance.

22 of the incoming Republicans to congress, sixteen in the House and six in the Senate have abstained form signing the ATR pledge.

Recent CNN polls show that 77% of Americans believe that their personal situation would suffer if the U.S. fell over the fiscal cliff, while 45% of Americans would blame the Republicans if no agreement is found. 34% would point the finger at Obama.

7 in 10 Americans want the Whitehouse and Republicans to come up with a deal in this latest fiscal crisis, but two/thirds of those polled said that the negotiations will fall short. 52% of Republicans polled said that they favor a combination of tax increases and spending cuts rather than spending cuts alone.

In a report released by the Whitehouse this morning said that failure to extend the tax cuts for middle Americans would reduce consumer spending by over $200 billion this year. The report was intended to apply pressure on Republicans to extend the tax cuts on those earning $250,000 and below while discontinuing the cuts for those who exceed that amount.

If an agreement is not made before the first of the year, the automatic cuts will triggered immediately.