this sort of a situation where you simply have to close down parts of the government because there is no money that the republicans will get the blame, that s what it looks like to me. brit: a.b., one difference from the government shut down we have had those before. we haven t exceeded a debt limit before this i which i would be what uncharted territory in terms of the reaction of the markets. what s going to happen? that s what s so interesting. what happened this weekend is that the house speaker john boehner cut president obama out of this process. he has moved it to the hill. it s going to be between congressional leaders as he would like it to be bipartisan. if it can t be, he is going to move on anyway. when he says we have massed a debt increase. we have passed to avert default. we have passed a budget. the democrats have no plan. if the president won t get serious we will. is he taking control of the message back where i think republicans have lotion it for for almost two
standard. because when the house acts, everybody says well, you know, that can t that can t pass. that won t pass. but, you don t have the senate has done nothing. they haven t passed a budget. chris: they rejected the president s budget 97-0. they haven t done anything. but so every time this every time the house actuary says it can t pass anywhere else. isn t it time for somebody to step up with an alternative plan? and the thing that is striking about this is a very close parallel to what happened back in the clinton years we had we had the partial government shutdown and that and the pattern is very similar. and in that case the republicans got all the blame and i have a sense here that there is a sense of confidence among the democrats in the white house and congress that if we went up with
remarkable change here in washington, d.c. chris: all right. having said that, you had a meeting, a conference call with the republican leaders yesterday in which you said you want to be able to announce a plan, the framework of a plan today before the markets in asia open. are you going to announce that plan? i m going to continue to work with my congressional colleagues in both parties and my house republican conference to try to develop a framework within the cut, cap, and balance effort that the house passed this past week. i do believe that such a framework could come together but it is not in place as we sit here. chris: will you announce a republican plan or will you only announce a plan if you have buy-in from the democratic leaders on capitol hill? i think the preferable path would be bipartisan plan that involves all of the leaders. but it s too early to decide
debate in this country. check it out. congratulations. thank you. chris: i read the first chapter didn t mention me but it was still interesting. [ laughter ] chris: i had a very carefully framed question for you, brit, let me ask you a much simpler one. you heard what geithner and boehner said, what do you make of it. well, it is striking that the house has acted to pass the plan and the senate has basically refused to take it up and voted it down. what you see here is an interesting combination of events. because the president really hasn t stated a position horrible plan or any of that. and you know, these the house republicans have basically done that. and what you are seeing here is a very peculiar kind of double
that you might pass a short-term plan in the house and, in effect, dare the senate, dare the white house to block it? chris, this is about what s doable at the 11th hour. remember this, and you mentioned it to secretary geithner. the house has done its work. we have passed a budget. we passed a plan. we have passed cut cap and balance. not one time in the pro-process have senate democrats or the white house put a plan out there. the conversations i was having with the president in case the senate didn t pass cut, cap, and balance, there was never any plan from the white house. the whole plan came from us. we laid out the framework. and at some point, they have got to lay their cards on the table. well, you are the one in the conference call yesterday who brought up the idea we have got to do something before the markets open in asia this afternoon. monday morning in asia.