Arguably, Paul Ryan's fiscal crisis comments Sunday were a threat to Obama and Democrats over sequestration. The Wisconsin congressman reiterated the GOP's stance on allowing the sequester to happen if the president and Democratic lawmakers don't reel in spending and adopt certain budget cuts.
Citing coverage from a Jan. 27 Washington Post story, Rep. Paul Ryan sat down with "Meet the Press" and outlined his take on the Obama administration's approach to warding off a potential fiscal crisis.
"I think the sequester is going to happen. We think these sequesters will happen because the Democrats have opposed our efforts to replace those cuts with others–and they've offered no alternatives," the congressman said.
Ryan, who remains an outspoken critic of President Barack Obama's economic policies, gave his first live interview since the 2012 elections. However, he showed no signs of slowing down his rhetoric.
"I don't think that the president actually thinks we have a fiscal crisis. He's been reportedly saying to our leaders that we don't have a spending problem, we have a healthcare problem. That leads me to conclude that he just thinks we ought to have more government-run healthcare and rationing."
Paul Ryan believes a fiscal crisis is the next logical step if the president doesn't acknowledge that his administration has a spending problem.
Recently, the so-called fiscal cliff was met with congressional approval at the 11th hour. Had lawmakers not intervened, every American would experience drastic income tax increases. Reluctantly, House Republicans stepped up and sided with the president, but included strong language that spending cuts must be part of any future agreement.
Next, sequestration is looming and includes budget cuts to non-exempt programs in the government, which could lead to massive layoffs.
Some pundits believe the GOP has the upper-hand this time and will use it to compel dialogue over spending cuts.
Paul Ryan insists that a fiscal crisis is imminent unless Obama agrees to partial cuts, double-downed on House Republicans' threats to force the president's hand.
In the end, the chess match may end of in a bipartisan stalemate, all at the expense of the American people.
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