It’s time to swallow the bullet

This is a mix up of “bite the bullet”  and “bitter pill to swallow”, both having similar meanings – reluctantly accepting something unpleasant.  “My ol’ pal” correctly told me not to  forget “swallow your pride”, which also refers to doing something you would rather not do and so is probably on the speaker’s mind as well.   As we approach the fiscal cliff, I think some folks need to swallow the bullet and make those hard choices they were elected to do.