House Speaker John Boehner said Friday he was not giving up on hopes for a deal to avert the looming fiscal crisis, signaling he's open to resuming stalled talks with President Obama while calling on the Senate to "do something."

But Boehner did not offer a specific proposal, on the heels of his "Plan B" tax bill failing the night before to garner enough support from fellow Republicans. He expressed interest in a broad agreement, but added: "How we get there, God only knows."

Americans are facing a gut-punch of tax hikes in just 11 days without a deal. But there's no real working plan. Talks between Boehner and Obama aimed at crafting a compromise are on ice. The House won't pass the bill, which contains tax hikes, that Senate Democrats want. The Senate won't pass the bill, which contains zero tax hikes, that House Republicans want.

And Boehner's plan, to extend current rates for all but those making more than $1 million, may be dead. "We didn't have the votes to pass it," Boehner acknowledged Friday. "It's not the outcome that I wanted, but that was the will of the House."

He called on Democrats to step up and get serious about spending cuts, noting they control the Senate and White House. "At some point the United States Senate has to do something," he said. At the same time, Boehner denied that he was giving up on talks with Obama.

House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said "we stand ready to continue a dialogue with this president to actually fix the problem."

But the reality remains that any package to avert the crisis must pass both chambers. Boehner may be facing the balancing act of his political career. Democrats claimed that without a robust coalition of Republicans behind him, Boehner would have to compromise with them.

But if the speaker goes too far to the left, he could easily lose Republicans...

Stock futures tumbled on the news out of Washington Thursday night, as some lawmakers expressed concern about what the development would mean for trading.

The House was able to pass a plan Thursday to replace automatic spending cuts set to hit next month. But in a sign of trouble ahead, it passed narrowly on a 215-209 vote. The House was later called into recess before the vote on the tax bill, and shortly afterward Boehner pulled the bill, citing lack of support.

The tumult raised even more questions about how lawmakers, if at all, might be able to avoid the crushing wave of tax hikes and spending cuts poised to hit at the beginning of January.

READ FULL SOURCE ARTICLE: 12/21/2012

Editor's Note: Just pass the damn legislation, lay it at Harry Reid and Obama's feet and get ahead of the message that the House Republicans have done their job and it is Progressives and Democrats playing partisan politics that are increasing taxes on everyone...Does anyone on the Right side of the aisle know how to play the media game??? Geez!...