Retiring Rep. Steve LaToureete (R-OH) said that fiscal cliff negotiations are in the hands of President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, during an appearance on CNN’s “Starting Point” Thursday morning, saying some Republicans want to settle the matter of raising tax rates so they can start negotiating the spending side of a deal.
“This is going to be a discussion between the top leaders of the House and the White House,” he said referring to Obama and Boehner. “And when they signal — sort of like the pope being elected — when the white smoke comes out of the capitol, we can come back and execute the deal.”
Until then, LaTourette said, House members are just pretending to be working on the debt deal. “We have engaged in some charades over the last 18 years where we all like pretend to be working in our offices, but we’re not doing anything to get this done because there’s nothing we can do,” he said.
