Number one, government spending is not a synonym for economic growth. Particularly when they’re spending money that does not exist. This has become pretty damn obvious over the past few years, except for a few remaining lunatics who say the only problem is we didn’t borrow or print up a couple of trillion more dollars.

Number two, the Republicans are not looking for tax cuts, they’re fighting against the massive tax increases the Democrats want to enact in the teeth of a recession. Does anyone remember Obama’s speech when he extended all the Bush tax cuts?

I have proven a dozen times that our problem is not insufficient revenue, it’s too damn much spending and an economy reeling under four years of Democratic policies. The revenues of 2007, under exactly the same tax laws we have right now, were an all-time record, exceeding those of the previous peak surplus year 2000 by over $100 billion. But the spending grew faster. Those same 2007 revenues would have paid the entire 1976 Federal budget twice over (all constant dollars).

Obama’s last budget, analyzed by the CBO, which included the tax increases he wanted, has ever-increasing deficits as far as the analysis goes, with none of them less than $750 billion and peaking out well over the trillion-dollar mark. Remember Bush’s $400 billion deficit, and how it was received by the same people who seem to have no problem with trillion dollar deficits?

Revenues in 2021 in this CBO analysis peak at $4.6 trillion dollars. Over twice current revenues. Remember, Obama’s budget included the tax increases. And thanks to the insane spending, that year still produces a $1.2 trillion deficit.

Oh, damn, am I bothering people with those unpleasant facts again?

The Dems know that no matter what is voted in, the economy is not going to recover by Nov 2012, and if the Reps get their spending cuts it will get a lot worse. What they want is to get the long term benefits of spending cuts, pay the price in unemployment and recession, and still be able to tell the angry entitlement losers and general electorate, “See, it wasn’t our fault, the Republicans made us do it. We had to deal to prevent gridlock.” It’s not dumb, its greed that will sink the GOP. They will sell their mothers for a tax cut. Once they get that they will deal.

The Republicans have one concern. One. Getting Obama out, and taking back power. They’ve admitted that publicly and repeatedly. But they want a tax cut even more. They are convinced it will solve all their problems.

The Republicans are being pulled into another “read my lips” trap. The Democrats have one concern. One. Getting Obama re-elected, and taking back power.

To do this, they have to neutralize the conservative Republicans and alienate their voters, and that requires getting Republican signatures on a massive tax increase.

At the same time, the Democrats are proposing slashing defense, leaving entitlements untouched, and playing all the class warfare cards, so their own voting base will be mollified.

Maybe the Republicans in Washington are dumb enough to walk into this. We’ll see.