The whole purpose of a White House Press Secretary is to answer tough questions without actually answering them. How did Jay Carney do with that last night on Special Report with Bret Baier?
Baier: Democrats put forward a budget that failed in the House. A version of the president’s budget was voted on in the House and Democrats said it was a stunt, but it fell 414-0. Senate Democrats have not passed a budget resolution in 1,070 days. Why?
Carney: Come on, Bret. You can cite, and I know that you often do, the statistics that represent gimmickry and stunts and–
Baier: Wait, what’s “gimmickry” about not passing a budget in the Senate?
Carney: It is our preference that Congress work, and the Senate effectively pass a budget. But you know how–
Baier: So why doesn’t the president call Harry Reid and say, “Why don’t we get a budget on the table and vote on it?”
Carney: Bret, I know that’s what you want to make this segment about. The president put forward and laid out his budget proposal, which has as its core a balanced approach. A balance that, to this day, Congressman Ryan rejects. There’s a lot of citation, on cable and elsewhere, about the Simpson-Bowles commission…
Baier: Jay, listen. The question is about the Senate Democratic leadership, Jay. Harry Reid controls the Senate.
Carney: Did you know that Congressman Ryan and two other mem– Bret, am I answering the questions?
Baier: And he has to have a 51 number to get a Senate budget resolution passed through. Why doesn’t he put something close to the president’s budget on the table in the Senate and pass it with 51 votes? He has the votes.
Carney: Bret, the president’s put forward a budget proposal. He would absolutely be delighted if Republicans were willing to approach our deficit challenges in the same balanced way that every bipartisan commission says we must. And that the Simpson-Bowles commission, which a lot of people like to cite as a high standard which has to be met, included in its membership Congressman Ryan and two other House Republicans. And guess what? They voted against it.
Baier: I understand. But you understand the gist of my question.
Carney: There is no… I… This is… You… You can talk about the Senate budget proposals.
Baier: It’s not 60 votes. It’s all Democrats. All Democrats could vote on a budget, they could vote on it tomorrow, and they could pass it if they put it on the table. You know that. So why doesn’t the president call Harry Reid and say, “Do that”?
Carney: Bret, I know that’s what you want to make this about.
Baier: No, that’s all I’m asking.
Carney: You know that the only way in modern-day Washington to achieve a significant budget compromise is when both parties are willing to work together. That doesn’t mean a unanimous Republican vote in the House or a unanimous Democratic vote in the Senate. It means coming together in a balanced way on a balanced approach. The president and Democratic leaders have demonstrated their willingness to embrace a balanced approach that the American people overwhelmingly support. What the Ryan Republican budget does is say that we should double down on the same policies that got us into the fiscal mess and economic mess that we’re just recovering from. That’s a fact.
Baier: Okay, we’re not making headway on this point, but we’ll come back to it.
Carney: On the great debate about the Senate budget proposal?
Baier: No, on the president’s budget being presented in the Senate.
So, if I’m understanding Jay Carney correctly: Harry Reid hasn’t passed a budget for almost three years, even though he’s got more than enough votes, because Paul Ryan is in the House and Republicans are allowed to exist. That seems reasonable enough.
As Tim Geithner said: “We don’t have a definitive solution. We just don’t like yours.”