“He’s trying to be the bottle of peroxide on the sore,” said Tom Perdue, a longtime Chambliss adviser. “And in the process, the sore is going to heal.”
‘We can’t get there’
The abrupt unraveling of the Gang of Six dealt a blow to both Republicans and Democrats who had been counting on the group to deliver a politically viable plan.
Earlier this year, 64 senators — 32 from each party — signed a letter supporting the Gang of Six, whose members are some of the Senate’s heaviest hitters. In addition to Chambliss and Coburn, the group includes Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), one of President Obama’s closest, and most liberal, allies; Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), chairman of the Budget Committee; Warner, who as the governor of Virginia negotiated with a Republican legislature to balance the state budget by raising taxes; and Crapo, a budget hawk who is close to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Chambliss suggested Tuesday that the group, at the very least, owes its Senate allies a report on its work.
Those close to the talks said trouble has been brewing for weeks. Earlier this month, the group appeared to be tantalizingly close to an agreement. But then, Democratic sources said, Coburn started bringing up new issues at every meeting, or demanding that old ones be reconsidered.
For example, Coburn began pressing for sharper cuts to Social Security than had been previously agreed to, according to sources familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the negotiations. And during a three-hour session late Monday, the sources said, Coburn demanded deep and immediate cuts to Medicare that went beyond anything previously proposed.
On Tuesday morning, Coburn called Durbin to say he was dropping out. He later told reporters that the group was at an “impasse” and complained that Democrats were unwilling to do enough to cut spending, particularly on federal retirement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
The group kept “talking about the same things over and over and not getting any movement,” Coburn said. His departure is “just a recognition that we can’t get there.”
The remaining members of the group plan to meet again Wednesday. But it was unclear whether they will be able to proceed.
“I’m disappointed, but we’ll continue to do our work,” Durbin said as he prepared to leave the Capitol late Tuesday. “We put a lot into this. . . . I think there are some valuable ideas there that can help us resolve a major national problem. And I hope we can do it on a bipartisan basis.”
Even if the group resumes meeting, the momentum it had earlier in the debate clearly has been overtaken by parallel negotiations at the White House with Vice President Biden.
Surviving attacks
Criticism of Chambliss, Coburn and Crapo from some quarters in Washington has been withering. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and one of the GOP’s fiercest tax opponents, has derided the Gang of Six for months.
“It looked to me like it was doomed from the beginning,” Norquist said. “It’s not treason to try. But it’s like building unicorns in the back yard. I don’t think it can happen.”
As an ironclad conservative, Chambliss has survived such attacks before. The American Conservative Union gave him a 100 percent rating for his votes in 2010; his lifetime rating is 93 percent.
Chambliss’s willingness to talk with Democrats, friends said, should not be mistaken for a willingness to compromise his principles.
“Saxby is a very rooted individual,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), a close friend. “He knows what we need to do, and I think he’s reached a point where he’s said, ‘Enough is enough, it’s time to lay something out on the table.’ ”
Until Tuesday, Chambliss had shown no signs of backing down, calling his work on the debt the most consequential of his career.
Said Perdue: “If you told Saxby today you had a crystal ball and you could guarantee him, ‘Saxby, you’re gonna lose the election in 2014 if you stay with this Gang of Six,’ he would stay with the Gang of Six. Being a senator is not what makes him a man.”
Staff writers Paul Kane and Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report.
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