Woah -- Republicans making sense!

At least some Republicans seem to get it:

''It's just very hard to say you're going to fund a war with a tax cut. That's a hard speech to give,'' Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., said Monday.

The president's tax cut proposal is under heavy attack from both sides of the aisle. But the war was just the last straw -- the camel was already loaded down to the max.

The president's own budget projects (conservatively) a deficit of $300 billion, before $90 billion for one month of war is even calculated. Greenspan testified against tax cuts, imploring Congress and the president to restore some fiscal sanity.

Yet amidst all the red ink, Bush wants to fight a second war, pass massive tax cuts, and implement a $400 billion prescription drug plan. So Bush, who cried "fuzzy math" every time Gore challenged his budget proposals, is now reduced to arguing that deficits don't matter.

And for some Republicans, that's just too much to bear. I wrote yesterday about the tax cut proposal situation in Senate. The president's proposal seemed to have a better shot in the House, but that may not be the case. Even the Chair of the House Budget Committee isn't happy about the president's plan.

'I don't want deficits, and I will not pretend that deficits don't matter,'' House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, said.

Given the GOP only has a 12-vote majority in the House, GOP moderates hold the balance of power. They never buck their hard-right leadership (DeLay), but this time things seem different.

The stakes are high. To make the president's plan work, the House would have to make deep cuts in health care programs for seniors, farm programs, food stamps, veterans health care, the environment, education and more.

And did I mention veteran's health care?

And through this all, one gets the notion that Pelosi is laughing, looking ahead to the 2004 elections:

"I think it's too hot to handle, even for the Republicans," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. "It's a sign of how out of touch they are with the American people."

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, the Democrats are now the party of Fiscal Responsibility. The GOP has completely abdicated the post.

Posted March 19, 2003 04:29 PM | Comments (14)