Seemingly undaunted by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) continued brickwall response to any deficit reduction deal involving net tax increases, the President plans to keep pressing Republicans to go for the “holy grail” and strike the biggest deal possible, according to White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Despite the tension and dramatic brinksmanship that spilled out of Wednesday evening’s meeting, Carney said the President would continue to push for a balanced grand bargain, to do something “generational.”
“That agreement is right here,” Carney said. “It’s on the table. You just have to be willing to reach for it.”
During the press briefing, Carney repeatedly exhorted Republicans to lead and stop following “narrow constituencies within your own party.”
House Republicans, however, held a press conference of their own in which they were equally adamant about opposing any tax increases that Obama has argued must be a part of a balanced deal.
“We’re not going to raise the debt ceiling if we don’t have cuts in excess of that amount, that we don’t want to raise taxes, and that we structurally change the system so that we stop this from ever happening again,” Cantor said.
Cantor last night said Obama stalked out of the meeting after warning him not to call his bluff on rejecting a short-term extension to raise the debt ceiling. Earlier Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Cantor should be kicked out of the negotiations because he is doing nothing but obstructing.
Carney declined to pile on. The two sides are scheduled to meet again at 4:15 at the White House to continue the talks even though Carney acknowledged that he is “not expecting today a Hallelujah moment” in the negotiations.
“The President believes that we have to reach a deal with the leaders of Congress of both parties,” Carney said.
