have public debates. one side puts a plan on the table, like the house has done, they have passed two budgets, with proposals to save medicare for future generations. senator harry reid has not passed budgets. president obama s budgets have been voted on 3 times, the final vote tally, 0-610. so getting back to your first question, have i seen a plan out of this president that would be an obvious yes from us? i haven t seen any specific plan. all i have seen is demagoguery and a few numbers thrown out, whether it s $800 billion over 10 years or $1 of revenue for $3 of spending cuts, but nothing specific that we need to see to hammer this thing out. he says the onus is on congress, this is your job to get done. he said in the clip we just had, if it doesn t get done, the people who are going to pay are the senior who is will lose out on benefits that they are enjoying. is that an accurate representation of what will happen? no! this country needs presidential
you are not only going to cut your way to prosperity. we have not seen the leadership on either side of the aisle to solve this problem and why would be think that we will see the leadership in the next 24 hours to solve the problem? shannon: the partisan blame game tens as lawmakers curry to reach a last minute deal. the president makes a rare sunday show appearance, taking republicans to task while speaker boehner responds with harsh words for mr. obama s lack of leadership. the senate is back be to work at this hour with the house not far behind. i m he shannon bream in washington. mike emanuel joins us live from capitol hill with the latest on the debate. mike, we heard the president go after republicans in the televised interview this evening. how is that being received? some irritation. mitch mcconnell is actively trying to hammer out a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, negotiating with harry reid. some question about the timing of the the president s interview. speaker boehn
to understand the basic outlines of the deal reached. i m hopeful a deal has been reached because i frankly think the consequences for the american middle class and our economy and recovery will be far worse if there is no deal for us to talk through later today in our caucus meeting. senator chris coons. thank your for your time. we wish you all the best. thank you, shannon. shannon: while much of the focus is on tax rates there, of course, is another major piece of the fiscal cliff puzzle that isn t getting as much attention. if sequestration kicks in the military will face billions of dollars in cuts. republican senator lindsey graham says president obama the commander in chief is the one to blame for that. peter doocy with more. senator graham said he got a call from the defense sect leon panetta last night and he told him that he has been told there will be nothing in the bill that is being writ ton avoid the fiscal cliff that will stop sequestration from going into
shannon. shannon: how optimistic are democrats sounding. depends on who you ask. senator chuck sho shuman said t of the big deals come down to the final moments. he seemed cautiously optimistic. another congressman chris van hollen from maryland didn t sound quite as optimistic. i think it is too early to say even though we are are really only hours away from what has to be a drop dead time forgetting an agreement. right now you i would say it is about a 50/50 chance they are able to get an agreement. we expect the key negotiators mitch mcconnell on the republican side and harry reid on the democratic side to meet with respective senators at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon and should hear whether they feel like they have a deal or are still is struggling and perhaps have to go to president obama s plan c. shannon? shannon: we ll stand by. we know you are on it. mike emanuel on capitol hill.
thanks. you are now looking live at the senate floor where a session is underway. the opening prayer there now being carried out asking for are wisdom and guidance for senators as they have a lot of work potentially ahead. shortly we should have is opening remarks from the majority leader, of course, senator are harry reid and then mitch mcconnell also expected. maybe first clues as to whether or not they hammered anything out. they complete the pledge now and then it is back to business. we ll keep you updated with any development there s. we have been asking you today to give us your input on a fiscal cliff. there are some lawmakers who say going over the cliff may actually be a food thing. do you agree or disagree? alex says go over the cliff. it will be painful but it is the only way for this country to right itself. another viewer says it isn t a good thing but a rushed plan is equally bad. we are between a rock and a hard place. keep the tweets coming. tweet us at @ anhqdc or @