Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said on Sunday that by passing Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) budget to slash the size of government and shift Medicare into a voucher system, the party had proved that it was not grandstanding or obstructing President Barack Obama.
At a fundraiser in Chicago last week, the president explained to supporters that electing a Democratic Congress was the best way to "work around" GOP obstructionism.
But Priebus told Fox News host Chris Wallace that Obama was working to defeat Republicans "so he can be even further unchecked."
"I hesitate to ask this because it sounds like a softball," the Fox News host noted. "But do you think this president is serious about trying to deal, to negotiate, to compromise?"
Wallace pointed out that The New York Times had recently accused Republicans of "grandstanding" with congressional hearings and investigations into the president.
"I just don't see that," Priebus insisted. "I see one of my best friends in Paul Ryan, that offers up year after year after year, a serious position and legislation on tackling our 10-year debt window, getting our economy under control long term, doing it at his own political peril. But yet, he stands there in the House and passes it every time, and it goes nowhere."
Wallace noted that Democrats had also recently passed a budget and Republicans in the Senate were now refusing to allow a conference committee to reconcile the two budgets.
Priebus, however, dodged that question, saying only that "big things can happen in this country. I think that trust is an issue. I think this president says one thing and does another."
