On Monday’s broadcast of FNC’s “Special Report,” Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer explained why he isn’t holding out any hope for a budget deal between Republican members of Congress and the White House, despite President Barack Obama’s gestures to open a dialogue.
“Look, last week everybody is excited that the president supped with 12 Republicans,” Krauthammer said. “But I’m not a believer in relationships. I’m a believer in policy. I don’t care what the relationship is. If he has one or doesn’t, plays golf with whoever — if it’s a Republican or Democrat. The problem isn’t that he and Ryan aren’t buddies. The problem is that he is not interested in cutting, and Ryan says if we don’t, we are going to go over a cliff. That is the real issue here. It’s not that he is not hanging out with Mitch McConnell. It’s that the Republicans believe [that] unless we get our fiscal house in order, we are doomed.”
“And Obama thinks that he can, should and is destined to be the one who increases American entitlement,” he continued. “That is the problem. And unless – so here is where I think the real issue is: What will the Democrats show in the Senate when they produce a budget, which will be in a couple of days — the first in four years?” he continued. “That is going to be black and white, we’re going to look at the numbers and see if there will be any cutting. We’re going to see if there is any entitlement reforms or not.”