From Sunday night’s Fox News All-Stars.
On Nancy Pelosi’s threat that when the debt ceiling deal comes before House Democrats, “We all may not be able to support it, or none of us may be able to support it”:
Well, if it’s none, let the House Democrats oppose the deal and have default on their head, because that would be the result. … It would be rather difficult for the president, who happens to be a Democrat, to explain that — or to defend his leadership.
On whether Republicans and the Tea Party should be happy with the final deal:
Look, I think if you’re a Republican, you have to look at the long game and the long view. This has been a tremendous success. The president in January gives a State of the Union address in which he talks about more spending on innovation, energy, all the pet stuff he believes in. Here we are nine months later — that sounds like it’s out of the Jurassic era. We are now in the debt era.
The whole idea of the Tea Party originally was to bring up – it was created by the stimulus and Obamacare in opposition to this huge expansion of government and debt. And what we’re talking about today — monopolizing all discussion is debt. That in and of itself is a victory. We are now in the debt era. It will be central to all political debates.
They’ve gotten quite a lot, a trillion dollars of cuts today. I’m also unhappy about the defense cuts. But you cannot govern out of one House.
If, given the terrible economic numbers that came out on Friday, the president has to defend this economy next year, he loses. The Republicans would have to run the worst campaign in history not to win. And then with control of the White House and the Senate and the House, you can make the changes you want.
On the political winners and losers of the debt ceiling crisis:
The president – if this [default] is avoided — doesn’t gain, he doesn’t lose. He didn’t show any leadership here. It’ll be neutral.
Boehner – I think if he gets 60 percent of his caucus, he’ll be O.K.
The winner is the Tea Party. They have changed the debate in the country. I think they ought to do what George Aiken advocated in the worst days of the Vietnam War: Declare victory and go home.
There’ll be another fight a year from now. Obama is losing it. And I think that’s where the big payoff will be, and that’s when the country will decide what it wants to do about debt and … the size of government.
On whether the final compromise will pass in the House:
It passes with 235 votes.
I used to respect Krauthammer.
"They’ve gotten quite a lot, a trillion dollars of cuts today."
Today? A decade out, if EVER.
We've got to stop listening to such nonsense.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"The Republicans would have to run the worst campaign in history not to win."
And we're just the guys to do it too!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's interesting how pundits play the "long view" any old way it suits them.
If they're anti-position they say things like, "No congress can bind future congresses, so anything beyond the current term is meaningless".
If they're pro-position they say things like "You have to take the long view".
It's tough being a pundit, isn't it?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe republicans have plenty of experience running "the worst campaign in history" and their complete and total lack of a coherent message now along with a failure to come up with a simple way to educate the public ensures a continuation of being on defense.
Does anyone outside the beltway really take any of this seriously? It can all be undone with the stroke of a pen by any future congress; and at the very minimum ignored.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe problem is unbridled government spending. The ONLY remedy for that problem is a balanced budget amendment. The Republicans should give the President this option: either live within our means now with a hard debt ceiling, or live within our means later with a balanced budget amendment. Another statute is just empty political posturing.
The Republicans may have lost me.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI still respect Krauthammer, but his "declare victory and go home" advice for the Tea Parties is absolutely foolish.
we know that there are ZERO real cuts in this deal.... all cuts are to an ever increasing baseline.
we need the tea parties to get REAL cuts.... and to win in 2012.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFor anyone in the Tea Party wondering where to look to read some wisdom on current events, look no further:
"The winner is the Tea Party. They have changed the debate in the country. I think they ought to do what George Aiken advocated in the worst days of the Vietnam War: Declare victory and go home."
Got that?
"Take this pathetic excuse for a 'debt cutting bill', twist it into a meatball hoagie, choke on it, and go away."
In politics. Dr. K is the master of the mindset of a loser.
Charles Krauthammer is locked into the world as it was in 1975, when Walter Kronkite was the most powerful man in the country, and the GOP was a permanent legislative minority.
And he cannot escape the specter of 1995, the first time in his adult life that the GOP was in a legislative majority when they were outwitted by a political master (and still held their majorities in the House and Senate).
So, he cannot envision the GOP standing on principle, not budging, and winning. That is why he declares we should take this pathetic bill, stick it in our pipes and smoke it.
He likes it so much, let HIM drink it. He thinks it's rain drizzling down his spine, that's his problem. That doesn't make him a genius.
If he's a genius, he must be one heck of a medical professional, because his political analysis is covered with the cobwebs of yesteryear.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe predicts it passes with 235 votes. He is one of the worst pundits at predicting things. Just look at his record in making predictions.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse" The Republicans would have to run the worst campaign in history not to win."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe worst campaign in history was Obama's; unfortunately he won.
Second through tenth on the list all belong to Republican presidential nominees in my lifetime, though some of them also won.
We mustn't discount the probability of a RINO candidate trying to be all things to all voters and squandering this golden opportunity.
How can anyone forget? Romney is the frontrunner.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHow is this acceptable? stop with the 10 year budgets, they are like football contracts. a $100 million contract is only for the agents as the player will never see the last couple of years of that contract where all the money is backloaded. We need "Guaranteed Money", in other words, show us the signing bonus and make the cuts this year and next. all the rest is garbage.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseKrauthammer is basically right on this.
Limbaugh was bloviating on Friday about the perils of doing anything out of fear. The bigger and much more frequent and harmful (and more socially acceptable, unfortunately)mistake is to act based on anger. Boehnner and McConnell, through patient fortitude and leadership, have risen above that pitfall.
The Jordans of the world wish to take us in the opposite direction. While Boehnner was quoted in the WSJ as having said he "woke up happy" on Friday, several Repo House members shot back that they'd "woken up angry" - I am glad Boehnner holds the gavel.
He has my vote and my respect.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhistling our way to insolvency; content knowing we didn't act in anger.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI like Dr. Krauthammer, but he is not seeing the long view.
The only party seeing the long view, putting country before party, and putting a common sense, balanced approach is the Tea Party.
I'd like to see Republican's follow Sen Rand's lead and say we'll support Reid's original plan with a Balanced Budget Amendment that balances the budget in 7 years.
You can't get a more Balanced approach and 75% of the public supports a BBA. I'd like to see Obama allow the country to go into default simply because he doesn't think we should balance our budget within 7 years.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHERE IS THE FULL YOUTUBE CLIP: External Link
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse