Politics

David Brooks: Last-minute fiscal cliff negotiations just everyone ‘trying to look busy’ [VIDEO]

Jeff Poor Media Reporter
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On Friday’s broadcast of PBS’s “NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks warned not to expect much from President Barack Obama cutting his vacation short and the House and Senate convening on the eve of the fiscal cliff deadline.

“I think everyone is trying to look busy, so when we go over, they can say, well, we tried,” Brooks said. “He came back from Hawaii. He had to do something. And so they had a meeting. If you don’t have new offers, you are not really making progress. You could have a nice frank exchange, but they are in the business of making a deal. And there is really, as far as we know, no real evidence that they moved. So I remain convinced, as I have been, that we are probably going to go over.”

However, Brooks said that once the cliff is passed and Speaker of the House John Boehner is re-elected speaker, he’ll have more room to bargain.

“Then, once that happens, then all sort of things start aligning,” Brooks continued. “Speaker Boehner gets reelected as speaker. He doesn’t have to worry about that. It’s a lot easier to pass a tax cut for the middle class than to try to do it beforehand. Everyone goes crazy outside. And so there is a little more pressure. So I still think it’s much more likely that not much is happening.

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Jeff Poor