Republicans' post-election rhetorical openness to higher taxes comes with a price that neither side of the fiscal debate in Washington may be willing to pay.

To get a deal with Democrats, Republicans would have to turn their talk of higher revenue into a vote that may split the party. And to transform Republicans' talk into action, Democrats would need to accept deeper cuts to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid than they are willing to countenance.

"There's still a great deal of ground that has to be covered before they get anywhere near a budget deal, and time is running" short, said Phil English, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania and now a lobbyist at Arent Fox LLP in Washington.