GOP Has "No Incentive" to Work With Democrats

In the @katiecouric segment, both journalists told Couric that Republicans have no incentive to reach out to the majority party.

"They know that whatever their numbers are now, in January after the elections, in both the House and the Senate, they're gonna be a lot bigger," said Allen. "So why should they make a deal now?"

With regard to Thursday's televised bipartisan health care summit, Halperin predicted "no real movement" -- "unless the president can convince [Republicans] that it is in the country's interest that they cooperate and the country demands it 'cause we have an economic crisis and we're at war and all the other big problems."

He noted that the label that they are "the party of no" is damaging for Republicans, which has prompted them to argue that they have their own ideas that are being ignored by Democrats.

The panelists discussed the notion of a third party candidate who could unite Washington to get things done, though they were not able to name anyone who might fit the bill.

"If General Powell were 25 years younger, half as sane as Ross Perot and had all of Michael Bloomberg's money, he could do it," said Halperin. "But he's not."

Allen suggested that the White House's recent push for bipartisanship comes not long before a push by Democrats to draw clear differences with Republicans.

"That is every indication we have that the Democratic strategy for the spring is to amp up the partisanship, to make it clear we're on the side of the working class," he said. "We're on the side of the middle class families. Not Republicans. They're on the sides of insurance companies, of banks, of for-profit student lenders."

"Game Change" co-author Halperin said "someone should ask" speakers at this past weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference what programs they want to cut.

"Because they don't have answers," he said. "All they have is the ability to capitalize on criticizing what President Obama has opened the door to, which is that the people in Washington now are out of touch and support the government."

Watch the full conversation, which includes a discussion of Evan Bayh's decision not to seek reelection, the use of filibusters and the partisan media, above.