Scott Walker talks party tension, budget battle

>>> we understand in this country that the true way to live the american dream is not to grow up someday and dream about being dependent on the government. it's about empowering people through the dignity of work to control their own destiny through the benefits of a job in the private sector that brings true freedom and prosperity.

>> we are back now with more from our roundtable. joining the conversation is republican governor of wisconsin scott walker . governor, good to have you back. that was you at this gathering of conservatives. i want to talk about the future of the party. first, let me get some reaction to this debate about the budget. from where you sit as a governor, here you have this tension right now between the parties, and the president, i thought, really sort of clarifying his position this week saying we don't have a debt crisis, we are not in a hurry to balance this budget. let's focus on the economy first.

>> i think we need to do both. in our states when i ran i talked about both the economic and fiscal crisis we faced and we acted on it. most governors, democrat or republican, not only because we have balanced budgets in all but once state but more importantly because we understand a balanced budget , it's spending within your means and connects you to the economy. we need to do both, create a better environment for jobs but also live within our means.

>> talk act reality, as well. you just heard it. no ratio of spending cuts to revenue increases republicans will accept. democrats will not cut or reform entitlements on their own. so there is no grand bargain to be had.

>> it's the problem overall. one of the frustrations in washington is the fact you have on one hand the entitlement issue and you said democrats aren't going to move the direction without more tax revenue . on the other hand, you have republicans saying hey, if we're going to have tax reform we should reform it, get rid of the loopholes but put it into lowering rates to stimulate the economy.

>> chris mathews , you made a point this week on a panel discussion saying you don't think the republicans are telling the whole story. they don't want to cut medicare or social security either.

>> the problem is both sides are in positions they're happy to be in. that's why they all prefer sequestration to the next situation, which is if you're a republican, the democrats are basically saying -- i'm speaking for you here -- basically saying, okay, why don't you raise taxes on people that have big tax loopholes like home mortgages and charitable contributions, which is never going to happen. so they're really talking act raising revenues, raising taxes . in exchange, we'll let you take responsibility for cutting medicare . i mean, why would any republican ever seek re-election saying, yes, i did cut taxes, i raised taxes on people that are out in this audience and also screwed you on medicare ? why would anybody want to do that?

>> ana navarro, this is part and parcel of where the republican is going. near as i can tell, it's been hanging out in maryland at the cpac conference. your trinkets, stand with rand posters.

>> i'm still twiping, so you know, three days after at cpac. but rand paul had an entire campaign going on. it did not happen by accident.