GOP Senators Praise Obama’s Outreach On Grand Bargain

Ordinarily the president would speak directly with leadership. But as the White House sees it, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have been unwilling to begin a discussion about averting the sequester in a balanced way. The two GOP leaders have repeatedly ruled out raising any new revenue. So Obama is searching for Republicans who are willing to engage.

As part of his outreach, Obama has invited a number of Republican senators to dinner on Wednesday night at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington. Those expected to attend, according to The Associated Press, are Sens. Graham, John McCain (AZ), Kelly Ayotte (NH), Roy Blunt (MO), Pat Toomey (PA), Rob Portman (OH), Bob Corker (TN) and Ron Johnson (WY).

Graham said the broad consensus is that the deficit must be reduced by cutting long-term entitlement spending and extracting revenues by reforming the tax code to eliminate deductions.