Reid continues to hammer Tea Party Republicans for impasse

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) continued his criticism of House Tea Party conservatives on Thursday, blaming them for an impasse in negotiations to raise the nation's debt ceiling. 

"A small group of radical Republicans who don't represent mainstream America ... have refused to move one inch toward compromise," Reid said. 

"There has been a spate of these members of the House of Representatives that have said they would rather see the nation default on its financial obligations than cooperate," he continued. 

To bolster his case, Reid went on to quote Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) withering critique of Tea Party Republicans' demand for a balanced-budget amendment as part of a deal.

"He called the radical Republican approach saying 'up is down and denying the sky is blue is unfair and bizzaro —  B-I-Z-Z-A-R-O,' " said Reid. "He further said, 'It's time we listened to the market. It's time we listened to the American people and sit down and seriously negotiate.' "