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The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Henninger on the continued debate over the fiscal cliff.
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A Wall Street Journal joins us now.
Dan you don't particularly like do you Republican the way the Republicans handling these fiscal cliff tools and no not at all stored I think they have bogged down in two.
Sort of standard beltway process smoke and mirrors.
And then the whole country is watching and they're becoming very despondent.
And it seems to me that.
The big question coming out of the elections was.
What does the Republican Party stand for now they've just lost what should they stand for.
And the fiscal -- win or lose was an opportunity for them to elevate some of the party's core principles on the economy.
And nobody in Washington is doing that right now they're missing an enormous opportunity want to find themselves the core principle small government lower taxes is that.
What's at issue here in the fiscal -- negotiations is simply the size of government how big is it going to get.
And below that weather improve the government is going to lead the economy or the private sector is going to lead the economy for a generation.
The second big issue is the safety net the so called idea -- preserving the safety net is this going to become the most important thing we do in American life as in Europe.
Or is America about something bigger and better and more interest -- than simply preserving the safety.
And very good defining the safety net when I think the safety net I think of a high wire and I think of that net underneath and what's supposed to happen is you fall and it bounces and it lifts you back up I feel like we have a fishing net here.
Where people get caught in it and they stay in it for ever and to me that's the difference between the safety net in the fishing net -- -- ended up ending up with right now.
While we end up having to work go to work every day you pay taxes -- simply to protect this safety net.
Rather than create a vibrant growing economy that will create jobs in the future for our children our grandchildren.
That's what the Democrats are saying no we work to just support this safety net.
I think the Republican Party in Washington is really missing an opportunity to present to the American people the big.
Picture why are you resisting Barack Obama at the moment it looks as though they're resisting.
Merely for sort of arcane not -- process reasons I think -- -- -- -- I think we're printing up a storm.
We're trillion dollars every year in debt the president wants to keep spending -- law so that means a bigger debt we've got a very slow economy.
I think these fiscal -- told.
Result of any -- -- nothing -- thing though -- lot of conservatives are saying you know.
-- may not be that far away from Obama an ideology in other words he's purge the Tea Party from within the ranks of the leadership within the GOP.
And seem to be willing to go down the same path as it spreads the president I'm not.
Sure I believe that I think Boehner -- in the right place but he's caught up it's his role to sort of grind out a deal with the president.
Rather than speak for the party now you know us Stuart.
In the British system someone will stand on the floor of the house of commons in the opposition and give a major statement of the party's position in any given fight.
And I don't see why -- should not be possible to designate somebody.
Like Paul Ryan or Eric Cantor or even Marco Rubio to stand down in Washington and give a major presentation on what part of all -- gives our presentation and the leaders is is head is going something different than a mixed signal I think they could.
Agree on their principles and I believe that John Boehner wants to do the sorts of things I'm talking about but he needs to have put it in a larger context the purpose of the damage done stuck in the process right now he's totally -- -- all ideas and if Barack Obama is the finding a narrative.
And in part of the problem is that the fiscal -- deal is really about tax hike that the price primary component is about the -- like the spending of the very little percentage so we're focusing on -- deal.
Rather than the larger economic issues and I think that that's the problem by talking fiscal clip fiscal clip -- distracting us from the underlying issue and nobody's talking.
That's the war that the president one -- and -- that's exactly what you're saying the president's already established that narrative.
And then the Republicans may have missed opportunity to counter argue.
Well he did ask for more revenue in the question is how does he get it whether higher rates are simply deductions and such are you call -- is down ending -- from the Wall Street Joseph thanks very much indeed going to be with us tonight.
