with austerity. i think we can afford to do this, and we ought to make the down payment. the cliff doesn't fix the deficit, but it really does make a downpayment and gets defense cuts for the first time. you know damn well the defense won't get cut ifรง they make a deal on this. >> in the "new york post" today a conservative columnist wrote the trut is every way you look at it, the gop is trapped. republican politicians will save and give the president most of of what he wants. the only real question is when. the answer is probably at the worst possible time when they've done even more damage to the party's brand. it seems to me from the perspective he doesn't specify the worst possible time will be after they drive the thing off the cliff. if they're going to do this, they should do it before christmas and go home. >> i think you're right. we've seen tom cole and others starting to say, you know what,