Charles Krauthammer: Fiscal Cliff Compromise 'A Complete Rout By The Democrats'

Add Charles Krauthammer's name to the list of conservative pundits deeply unsatisfied with the fiscal cliff deal just passed by the House of Representatives.

The political columnist lashed out at congressional Republicans in the hours just before the House finally passed the fiscal cliff compromise, capping a fraught evening in which House GOP leadership threatened to amend the bill approved last night by the Senate -- comprised largely of tax cuts -- with matching spending cuts, which would almost certainly have imploded negotiations. Ultimately, the Senate's bill was passed unchanged.

Krauthammer said of the final bill:

Look, there are a lot of conservatives in the Republican caucus in the House who hate the bill, and for good reason. This is a complete surrender on everything.

The ratio of tax cuts, of tax hikes to spending cuts is 40-to-one, rather than one-to-one or one-to-two, or one-to-three. So, I mean, it's a complete rout by the Democrats, so it's understandable.

The comments are in keeping with Krauthammer's earlier posture on the fiscal cliff talks. Last Friday, he commented that Obama was negotiating with "great skill, and ruthless skill, and success -- to fracture and basically shatter the Republican opposition."