Sen. Johnny Isakson (R., Ga.) told MSNBC host Chuck Todd on Tuesday's "The Daily Rundown" that going off the fiscal cliff would be "a very stupid idea" and there was still time to negotiate between the White House and Congressional Republicans.
"I made a living selling houses for 33 years," Isakson said. "You don't get people together until they finally sit down at the table and negotiate. It's still too much posturing, still too much the President wants it his way, somebody else wants it that way. It's time to sit down in a room, see if we can work this thing out because going off the cliff would be a very stupid idea."
Asked by Todd if he would support the House extending middle-class tax cuts, even if no other deal could be struck before the deadline, Isakson demurred.
"I'm not in favor of patchwork solutions to a macro problem," Isakson said. "Taxes are an issue in terms of revenues, whether it's capping deductions or raising rates. Entitlements are an issue, and we've got to deal with entitlements. That's two-thirds of all federal spending, and discretionary spending is part of the problem. All three of those have to be addressed in a macro plan or you're not going to solve the problem."