To cut spending, GOP will have to be the "mean parent"

Ace, proprietor at Ace of Spades, notes that that the Dems aren't willing to offer their own budget. That's a brilliant more on their part, because it means that if there is to be any reduction in spending it will have to come from the Republicans.

That puts the GOP in the tough position of having to be the mean parent who enforces a painful correction on a rebellious kid. Fully half the electorate will think, "Why should I vote for those pricks that want to cut my 'freebies' when I can vote for a Democrat who's promised to keep 'em coming and then some?"

He concludes,

The GOP is offering tough medicine--medicine [that's] not polling well, but also not catastrophically. The GOP is offering its agenda, [which] is full of tough, unpopular stuff.

Bingo. But he thinks the public may be savvy enough to see the truth:

At some point the Democrats will be compelled...to offer their actual agenda -- and we'll see how that fares when the public understands what they mean by a 'balanced approach.'

Savvy, well-informed electorate, eh? Much as I would love to believe this, unfortunately I don't. It seems far more likely that the 50% of the public that don't pay one cent of federal income taxes will be absolutely delighted by a plan that increases spending and raises taxes--and whether on "the rich" or on everyone above $30K a year won't matter to them one bit.

Add the five percent of rich, tax-paying but guilty liberals and there's a Dem majority.

Finally Ace notes that Obama, Reid and Pelosi have implied that closing tax loopholes on corporate jets, and taxing the wealthiest one percent will solve the nation's deficit problems. He correctly notes that this is pure horseshit. Problem is, you need to be numerate, literate and well informed to reach that conclusion.

Fully 52% of the electorate fails one or more of those tests.