TODAY ON THE SUNDAY TALK SHOWS
FOX NEWS SUNDAY
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R): 'We're willing to take this as long as it takes'
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who is the subject of protests in the state capital of Madison, said he is willing to hold out on his budget proposal.
"For us, we're willing to take this as long as it takes," Walker said. "In the end, we're doing the right thing."
Wisconsin Senate Democrats are in hiding in order to avoid a vote on Walker's proposal, which would make union employees pay more for health and retirement benefits and strip them of collective bargaining rights. The Democrats have offered to concede on the money issues if unions can keep collective bargaining rights, but Walker on Sunday said "no."
"Those Senate Democrats should realize that, if you want to participate in democracy, you've got to be in the arena," Walker said. "Democracy means you show up and participate."
Meanwhile, on the federal budget, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) suggested that some of the cuts from a spending bill House Republicans passed last week could find their way into the Senate's bill, but she said Republicans must be willing to compromise. And Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said he doesn't believe the government is headed for shutdown.
ABC: THIS WEEK
Sec. of State Hillary Clinton on human rights: 'Hold everyone to a similar standard'
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama Administration tries "to hold everyone to a similar standard" when it comes to human rights, but she stressed that every case is different. "If there were one template that could be imposed on every situation, then I wouldn't need to have this job and nobody else would have to either," Clinton said.
NBC: MEET THE PRESS
Ambassador Susan Rice: 'We are not pushing people out or dictating that they stay'
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice pushed back on the notion that the Obama administration has treated two allies - Egypt and Bahrain - differently in the face of protests. "We are not pushing people out or dictating that they stay," Rice said. Rice also said the administration is "very concerned" about reports of Libyan security forces shooting at protesters.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted that Congress will vote to continue funding the government with a temporary continuing resolution, which would allow the government to avoid a potential shutdown while the two sides debate spending cuts. The current resolution is set to expire in two weeks.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said everything but Social Security should be on the table for spending cuts, since Social Security doesn't add anything to the deficit.
CNN: STATE OF THE UNION
Sen. Charles Schumer: 'We are saying negotiate; they are saying do it my way.'
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) discussed Democrats' and Republicans' attempts to come to a budget agreement before the March 4 deadline to continue funding the federal government through fiscal year 2011. Schumer went on to describe House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) as "being on a course" that would lead to a government shutdown. Schumer countered the assertion that, should the government shut down, both Democrats and Republicans would share the blame. "We have said shutdown is off the table," said Schumer, adding that Republicans have not taken the same position. "We are saying negotiate; they are saying do it my way," Schumer said, repeatedly calling Republicans' proposals "wrong."
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) also was asked to comment on the increasingly heated budget debate. "I would not support the entirety of the House bill," he said, imploring the president to call together the leadership of both parties, stress the gravity of the situation and release a formula to achieve a bipartisan agreement. "The president sort of backed away from all of this," Lugar said. "This is a time for presidential leadership." Lugar also discussed the White House's reportedly having engaged in talks with the Taliban and the continued unrest in Egypt.
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also joined Crowley to discuss his new memoir, "Known and Unknown." Rumsfeld discussed what keeps him up at night, whether the United States would be in Afghanistan another 10 years and his assessment of the Obama administration's approach to counterterrorism.
C-SPAN NEWSKAMERS
Rep. Jim Jordan: 'I think the Democrats will see things our way'
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the Republican Study Committee was joined by Jonathan Allen of Politico and Russell Berman of The Hill. "I think you saw this thing play out the way it was supposed to," Jordan said of Republican members' having challenged party leadership to increase the amount of cuts in the continuing resolution. He said the RSC would continue to advocate for the open legislative process, and he praised freshman members who had brought their amendments forward.
"I think the Democrats will see things our way," said Jordan when asked if Democrats would go to the wall, leading to government shutdown. Jordan also said the nation would see changes to Medicare and Medicaid that would affect younger Americans more so than older Americans, but not Social Security, calling the latter a "sacred contract."
Jordan called Obama's proposed government spending rate "crazy," saying that the government could not continue to fund otherwise popular programs such as funding for firefighters. Jordan said that the GOP would be pushing heavily for increased budget cuts. He also insisted that Republicans would win the battle over whether to cut or continue funding for public broadcasting.
CBS: FACE THE NATION
Rep. Paul Ryan: 'This president has punted.'
"We're not looking for a government shutdown," said Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc), chair of the House Budget Committee. "We want some real spending cuts," he said.
"We'll probably have some short-term extension" during the negotiation process he continued. "I'm not going to go through negotiation through the media, with all due respect."
Asked if Wisconsin was the Tunisia of America in terms of the budget battle, Ryan cited other states that were facing fiscal crises, and defended fellow Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. "All levels of government have been making empty promises to people and these governors have been telling people the truth," Ryan said.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) was also asked to comment on the budget debate and the potential for a government shutdown. "I hope they won't push it to that," he said, defending the president's budget proposal against the claim that his budget proposal all but ignored the recommendations of the president-appointed Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
"His plan disavows the commission's recommendations," said Ryan, countering Van Hollen's claim that the president's budget proposal was in agreement with the recommendations. "He actually has failed to lead on these issues," Ryan said. "This president has punted. ... He has chose not to lead. ... We are going to lead."
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