Sunday Talk: Tim Geithner, John Boehner, Lindsey Graham & More (Video)

Boehner: ‘We’re Nowhere’

So much for the end of Washington gridlock. House Speaker John Boehner told Fox News Sunday today that he’s “flabbergasted” by the White House’s initial proposal to steer the country away from the so-called “fiscal cliff.” “We put a serious offer on the table by putting revenues out there to try to get this question resolved,” Boehner said. “But the White House has responded with virtually nothing.” So, host Chris Wallace asked, where are we in terms of coming to an agreement? “We’re nowhere,” Boehner responded. Oh boy.

Geithner: Tax Hike, or No Deal

The battle continued on CNN’s State of the Union, with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner telling Candy Crowley that the White House is prepared to send the country over the fiscal cliff if Republicans don’t agree to raise tax rates. “There’s not going to be an agreement without rates going up,” Geithner said. Crowley pressed him, asking specifically whether he was prepared to send the nation over “the cliff” if Republicans continued to refuse an increase, and Geithner stuck to his original answer. “If Republicans are not willing to let rates go back up—and we think they should go back up to the Clinton levels,” he said, “then there will not be an agreement.” Here we go again.

Graham: ‘I Think We’re Going Over the Cliff’

Calling President Obama’s plan “a joke” on Face the Nation, Sen. Lindsey Graham told host Bob Schieffer that “the president’s plan does nothing but damn us to becoming Greece,” and prophesized that we’re doomed to go over the cliff. So much for positive thinking.

Norquist: Geithner’s ‘All Show, No Economics’

Anti-tax czar Grover Norquist followed Geithner on Meet the Press, showing no love for the Treasury secretary. “Every Republican who had impure thoughts about ‘maybe I could raise taxes a little because the other guys would be reasonable’ has got to go back to the drawing board,” Norquist said, claiming Geithner was “all show, no economics” during his interview with host David Gregory. The founder of Americans for Tax Reform then called on President Obama to allow C-SPAN cameras into the negotiations.

GOP Rep.: We Don’t Need a Plan

That’s one way to negotiate. On ABC’s This Week, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla), the deputy majority whip in the House, said the Republicans don’t need to present a plan of their own to counter President Obama’s proposal to avoid the fiscal cliff. “I don’t think we need to put a formal proposal out on the table,” Cole said. “The speaker has already said that revenue is on the table. We have an idea of how to get there in terms of not raising rates but finding another way through the tax code and reform.” And that is?

Roberts: Senate Politics Behind Anti-Rice Sentiment?

This is how rumors start, Cokie. On This Week’s roundtable, Cokie Roberts suggested that Republican senators are going after Ambassador Susan Rice’s hypothetical nomination to be secretary of State because they want John Kerry to get the job—and Kerry’s Massachusetts senate seat to go to Republican Scott Brown. Both George Stephanopoulos and former Romney adviser Dan Senor quickly dismissed the idea as “too much.”

CNN Is ‘Last Bastion of Television Journalism,’ Says CNN Panelist

Well, here’s one way to get invited back on the air. On Reliable Sources, Baltimore Sun media critic David Zurawik told Howard Kurtz that CNN “is this nation’s last bastion of television journalism.” So, Jeff Zucker, leave everything as it is and you should be fine.