Is DC any closer to a deal on the fiscal cliff?

Apparently not. And according to Rep. Paul Ryan, the situation has actually decayed in recent days:

Paul Ryan addressed the fiscal cliff crisis on Tuesday, telling a Milwaukee radio host: “We’re nowhere. We’re farther than where we started.”

In an interview with 620 WTMJ host Charlie Sykes, the Wisconsin congressman and 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee said the fiscal cliff negotiations to stop automatic tax hikes and spending cuts at the end of the year “don’t really exist” because the White House won’t negotiate with Republicans.

“He took 40 minutes to reject the deal,” Ryan said of Obama’s dismissal of a compromise offered by Republicans on the fiscal cliff on Monday.

“That leads us to conclude he’s trying to get us to our fiscal cliff,” Ryan said. “He doesn’t want to come to the middle.”