There has been quite a bit of confusion today about the status of fiscal cliff negotiations on Capitol Hill. Earlier today, the National Journal and other news outlets reported that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, told the press he had made a counter-offer to Republicans.
We now know, however, that Reid did not make any such offer. It was merely an “off the cuff” comment, not to be taken seriously:
Theater of the absurd: Reid says he sent a "counteroffer" to R's, then spox says Reid was joking and that his rhetoric to press was offer
— Tia Mitchell, AJC’s Washington Correspondent (@ajconwashington) December 30, 2012
Further explaining Reid’s misstatement, the Reid spokesman said that Sen. Reid was being “rhetorical.” This elicited a bit of pushback from NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly O’Donnell:
Reid spokesman clarifies that Reid has NOT made #fiscalcliff counter-offer to GOP, "he was being rhetorical" Huh?
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) December 30, 2012
It’s all pretty amusing, except for the part where our taxes go up in a few days.
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