KRAUTHAMMER: House GOP Should Force Obama’s Hand On The Sequester

By admin on February 6, 2013

charles krauthammer

The House Republican leadership shouldn’t act on President Barack Obama’s plea for Congress to delay upcoming sequester cuts and bridge the gap with new taxes, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer said on Tuesday’s broadcast of “Special Report.”

“I think the Republicans will do what [House Majority Leader Eric] Cantor is suggesting, which is to do nothing,” Krauthammer said. “This is the one time since Election Day where Obama does not have the upper hand.

“He had the upper hand in the fiscal cliff negotiations, because we would have had automatic hikes in taxes, which is what Republicans did not want. So they had no good options. This time the shoe is on the other foot.

“This time, if the Republicans do nothing then you will get these severe cuts — $ 1.2 trillion, half in domestic, half in defense spending. Obama suggested it in negotiations on the debt ceiling in 2011. But now he doesn’t want any domestic cuts.”

The Fox News contributor said Republicans should continue to oppose tax hikes, because the benefits outweigh the risks for the party.

“He has to do something about this, and it’s unbelievable he would have offered the Republicans a deal in which there are extra tax increases as part of the deal. Republicans will do nothing, and they should do nothing and demand if the president wants to avoid this, you do the cuts — do them somewhere else. But no tax increases.”

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