“Shrink the government or the deficit?” poses Howard Gleckman in The Christian Science Monitor. “‘The goal is to reduce the size and scope of government spending, not to focus on the deficit.’—Grover Norquist…It is much easier for Republicans to take Grover’s route and build a legislative strategy around the goal of small government and low taxes. They can focus on slashing regulation and corporate taxes (for which the business community will continue to show them the love) and on cutting a few high-profile examples of “waste, fraud and abuse” which will win them the support of many in the tea party movement.”
From The National Review Online, Congressman Paul Ryan exposes his “ambitious plan to preserve the American Dream” at ATR’s Newsmaker Breakfast. “When House Republicans unveil their budget document in the spring, it will include a serious blueprint for getting the skyrocketing federal debt under control…Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, knows better than anyone that by going after ‘third-rail’ entitlement programs he is ‘walking into a political buzz saw.’ He’s already been there, done that. His “Roadmap for America’s Future” put forward a sensible plan to reign in spending, reform entitlements, and balance the budget over the next several decades.’ We have a high hill to climb,’ Ryan said at a recent press breakfast organized by Americans for Tax Reform. ‘Yes, we will be demagogued and, yes, we will be giving political weapons to our opponents, but shame on them, is the way I look at it.’”