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Hume: GOP should not expect a 'fair' debt ceiling fight

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    How can Republicans be most 'effective'?

  • Duration 3:17
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House Republicans are huddling tonight in southern Virginia the focus of their winter retreat.

To come up with some kind of a strategy ahead of the drama over the debt ceiling a continuing resolution and sequester cuts.

One of them admits it is a tough situation for them.

There's no celebration in the fact that we're a nation at sixteen trillion dollars in debt and you have somebody in the White House.

That says to do the one of the things that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and that's raise the debt ceiling.

With no change in the future that's actually an absurd argument.

So let's get more on the Republican messaging from senior political analyst for him to break.

I'm -- Those house Republicans meeting in Williamsburg are not wrong to seek spending cuts in exchange for allowing more borrowing by treasury already more than sixteen trillion dollars in debt.

But in politics it is not enough to be right you need to be effective a -- some house Republicans have been slow to learn.

Effectiveness requires a recognition that politics is a team sport and being united is critical.

This is especially true if your party controls only one house of congress.

And the other party not only has the other one but the White House as well consider what happened in the recent fiscal cliff and game.

Taxes were set to go up by law on January 1 some house Republicans thought if they refuse to vote for anything you didn't block the tax increase for everyone.

They could somehow prevail when speaker John Boehner brought forth a bill to block the increases for everyone but millionaires conservative firebrand ball and Boehner couldn't pass it.

What ended up passing later with -- in the conservatives like even less.

They oppose that too but they lost.

Now comes another set -- deadlines with the funding of the federal government hanging in the balance some Republicans are saying that they have more leverage now -- for spending cuts.

Well maybe they do but they'll need to be Smart about how they use it with the senate the White House and most of the press against them.

They should not expect a fair fight.

-- you had congressman Paul Ryan's saying that Republicans have to be careful they need to remember is divided government than you do.

Remember what you're saying here and be cautious we had other members like.

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers is in leadership saying maybe you need to do need to shut down the government and the biggest step.

If that if the lessons of the 1990s when the Republicans first took control of the house tell you anything -- -- you shouldn't go around talking about Harry and you're in here OK with shutting down the government.

Because if you've heard me say this before Brett people will tell pollsters that they want the government cut down but the one thing they seem not to want -- a government to be shut down.

And Republicans and lost ground whenever they've done that and ended up not coming out very much.

My sense is that this is that they you know they're gonna have to pick which of these next 3.2 pressure.

Is the best when they used to try to extract and spending cuts on -- -- -- out of position which will sound reasonable to the public in general.

And then stick to that and all of them need to be saying the same thing or something very close to the same thing.

And I may not be the debts and no it may not be it could well be this the so called -- question with this was a forced spending cuts that are already in law as set to take effect in -- is headed off.

If they can live with the Republican deliver the defense cuts it's not all clear that the president the Democrats can it was a domestic cuts and might -- -- to give some ground to avoid our -- thank you.

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