Reid: 'I'm Not Talking to Boehner'

Reid: 'I'm Not Talking to Boehner'

on Thu, 26 Sep 2013

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporterson Thursday that he hasn't had a single conversation with House Speaker Boehner concerning the continuing resolution or debt ceiling debate. He also said he has no plans to talk with Boehner or any Republicans about the issues and insists they should just acquiesce to Obama and the Democrats demands. 

“Send us a clean [continuing resolution], a clean debt ceiling [bill]. That’s the path forward," Reid told reporters. "There’s no need for conversations. We’ve spoken loudly and clearly, and we have the support of the president of the United States.”

Of course, according to the Democrats and the media, it is the Republicans who are obstructionists. Republicans, policed by Tea Party activists, will not compromise or bend or make concessions. The Republicans have offered a range of ideas on which to base a compromise on both issues. 

Reid doesn't have to endorse these ideas, but he won't even have a conversation to hear them out. Veteran reporters and pundits like to wax nostalgic about a mythical time when Republicans and Democrats hashed out their differences, often over drinks, and came up with a compromise. Each side, we're told, gave up something for the greater good of "getting something done."

The story ends, with a rampant rise of partisanship among Republicans, made worse by the rise of the Tea Party. The compromises remembered in the mythical story were when Democrats got 90% of what they wanted. That no longer happens, so Republicans are now obstructionists.

And the Senate Democrat Leader won't even pick up the phone.