The Republicans can't take yes for an answer because they are not really fighting for lower taxes, they're fighting for the upper two percent of income earners and that's a losing proposition.

The American government has never defaulted on its debt. And now there are some, not the majority of Republicans even, but there are some on the extreme of the Republican Party, and they seem to be in control, who seem to want to default…

The Republicans can't take yes for an answer, because they are not really fighting for lower taxes. They're fighting for the upper 2 percent of income earners and that's a losing proposition.

The president has this crazy notion that he ran around the country, he got 51 percent of the vote and carried the majority of states and the vast majority of electoral votes on this agenda.

If they cannot be entrusted with the full faith and credit of the United States, they should not have that leverage.

They seem to be intent on falling on their sword for the 2 percent of the wealthiest Americans, many of whom themselves are happy to pay a slightly higher rate the way we did when President Clinton was president.

I think it's outrageous. I think this brinksmanship about the budget and even the fiscal cliff is all just fine. I don't want to go over the cliff. I think it would be irresponsible.

It's certainly acceptable to the majority of the American people.

I think John Boehner got the better of the president frankly, speaker Boehner, in the last negotiations that they had in 2011.

He's got a hell of a lot more of a mandate than Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, doesn't he?

Well, I don't want to ascribe any sort of dog whistle to it. He's just wrong. You know, he's flat-out wrong.

Well, he's got a hell of a lot more of a mandate than Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, doesn't he?