The drama around the $85 billion in federal government cuts due to start on March 1, known as the sequester, centers around one fundamental question: how much has President Obama’s victory in November changed the nation’s political dynamics on fiscal issues?

Since Election Day, President Obama has demanded Republicans back down from some of their strongest-held positions, arguing the American public handed him a mandate to rechart the country’s fiscal course by electing him a second time. Yes, the Republicans would allow higher taxes on the wealthy, Pres. Obama insisted, and the GOP eventually conceded. Yes, Republicans would allow the country to raise its debt limit without accompanying spend cuts, Pres. Obama insisted, and again the GOP relented.

With the sequester, the Republicans finally feel like they are in a fight they can win. They say the president, who is insisting the $85 billion in cuts this year be replaced by an agreement that includes both spending reductions and tax increases, can’t cast the GOP as a crazy, anti-tax party after Republicans just allowed a tax increase less than two months ago. And while allowing the sequester to occur could result in thousands of layoffs and furloughs for workers, Republicans won’t be blamed for a full economic meltdown, which could have resulted from going over the federal debt limit. In fact, the GOP can point out, as party leaders are, that the sequester was originally proposed by top Pres. Obama aides.

This fiscal debate is also much different than the other two issues consuming Washington: gun control and immigration. Republicans have a strong incentive to reach a deal on immigration, rather than oppose Pres. Obama, as they view taking that issue off the table as a starting point to winning more Latino voters in future elections. And the president’s main legislative priority on gun control, passing universal background checks, does not target a fundamental Republican value.

On the sequester, both parties’ positions are much more hardened. Pres. Obama argues correctly that the majority of the voting public shares his view that deficit reduction plans should include a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.