Charles Krauthammer on Obama's 'Insulting' Fiscal Cliff Offer: 'Republicans Ought to Simply Walk Away

Republicans on Thursday rejected the White House's "offer" of $1.6 trillion in higher taxes over a decade and an immediate infusion of cash. In an attempt to appease Republicans, President Barack Obama offered what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called "vague" spending cuts that do not adequately address the nation's financial woes.

Appearing on Fox News Thursday, Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer called the deal "insulting" and advised Republicans to "simply walk away" from the negotiating table.

"It's not just a bad deal, this is really an insulting deal. What Geithner offered, what you showed on the screen, Robert E. Lee was offered easier terms at Appomattox, and he lost the Civil War," Krauthammer said. "The Democrats won by 3 percent of the vote and they did not hold the House, Republicans won the house. So this is not exactly unconditional surrender, but that is what the administration is asking of the Republicans."

He continued: "This idea -- there are not only no cuts in this, there's an increase in spending with a new stimulus. I mean, this is almost unheard of. What do they expect? They obviously expect the Republicans will cave on everything. I think the Republicans ought to simply walk away. The president is the president. He's the leader. They are demanding that the Republicans explain all the cuts that they want to make."

Watch the clip below:

Krauthammer pointed out that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) presented a "serious real budget with real cuts" more than a year ago and Obama not only rejected it, he called it "un-American" in a speech with Ryan sitting in the front row. Further, Obama has offered no counter measures on Medicare and real spending cuts, he explained.

"And they expect the Republicans are going to do this again?" Krauthammer asked. "The Republicans are going to walk on this. And I think they have leverage...He's going to have a recession, 9 percent unemployment, 2 million more unemployed, and a second term that's going to be a ruin. That is not a good proposition if you are Barack Obama."

(H/T: Real Clear Politics)