Spinning your Wheels

It seems like no matter how much you warn someone they are about to open a big can of worms they often do it anyway. For example in January we warned House Budget Chief Paul Ryan that entitlement reform was a trap for Republicans being set up by the Democrats. It is not a question of whether or not we need it, we do. But it is a question of recognizing a briar patch before you enter it. Brier Rabbit did not look before he leaped and you remember what happened to him. (The Song of the South) On the rare occasions when Republicans achieve a majority in the House or Senate we always hope that they have learned from the past. But apparently that is too much to hope for even in this day and age of lighting fast communication and information dissemination. In addition to the Entitlement Trap (Jan 26, 2011) the Republicans have also fallen into the second trap the Democratic minority has set for them; Budgeting for future years that are not under their control. It is the "Dirty Little Secret about Budgets."(Feb 16, 2011) Republicans have a great opportunity to cut spending in the 2012 budget by getting the work done in the 12 appropriation bills that make up the federal budget and eliminating the need for a "Continuing Resolution (CR)." Surgical budget cutting is more easily achieved in committee with the goal of reducing spending one budget cycle at a time. The Republicans need to spend less time spinning their wheels and more time in budget surgery.