Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is priming the media for the next big round of Republicans versus Democrats. In a chat with KNPR in Nevada, Reid blamed Republicans for not letting “everybody” pay more taxes when we so obviously want to.
“It’s really hard to try to be rational and logical with people who are illogical and not rational,” Reid mused.
To wit, Reid worked his way through a handful of criticisms before he landed on the need for higher taxes, and said that raising them would totally be within his reach, if it weren’t for Republican obstructionism .
“Listen, we’re willing — the president has stuck his neck way out. He’s willing to do a lot of stuff with spending, but there has to be some reciprocity here. Once Republicans decide that they’re going to let — keep in mind, also, that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The rich know that. The rich are willing to pay more. They’re not the ones out here saying, ‘please don’t tax me.’
“The only people who feel there shouldn’t be more coming in to the federal government from rich people are the Republicans in the Congress. Everybody else, including rich people, are willing to pay more. They want to pay more. So, yeah, but we’re going to have to have mainstream Republicans step up again.”
Though Reid lambastes Republicans for sticking to hard to the partisan line, he also showed little sign of compromise himself, preferring Republicans suddenly become Senate Democrats and ignore things like entitlement reform in favor of just higher taxation on “everybody.”
He even snapped on the KNPR host when asked about reform to Medicare and Social Security, government programs which have long been ailing .
“You keep talking about Medicare and Social Security. Get something else in your brain. Stop talking about that. That is not going to happen this time. There is not going to be a grand bargain. What we need to do is have Murray and her counterpart in the House, Ryan, work together to come up with something to get out of this senseless sequestration and start the budgeting process so that we can do normal appropriation bills.”
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