The Budget Deal -- and Why We're $17 Trillion in Debt

◼ There’s a reason that 71% of Republicans across America are dissatisfied with Republican leadership in Washington. - Jim DeMint/Heritage

The big budget deal announced this week breaks important promises congressional leaders have made to each other and the American people to cut spending and taxes. It is essentially a tax-and-spend plan, but is being hailed by the political and media establishment as a reasonable and modest accomplishment because it promises to do better in the future.

In their defense, Republicans are in a tough spot. They have two bad options. They can continue to capitulate and go along with the always happy to tax and spend liberals, or they can take a stand for the good of the country and watch the Democrats close the government, change the rules, or issue an executive order—and then listen to liberals and the media blame it all on Republicans. It’s a pattern that’s been developing for a long time. The Democrats know the Republicans are afraid to take a stand, so they keep pushing the “compromises” further to the left.

Many want to return to the “good old days” in Congress when everyone got along, compromised, and worked in a friendly bipartisan way. That’s how America got $17 trillion in debt. You can’t spend, borrow, and waste that much money without bipartisan cooperation....

◼ Crunching the budget deal numbers - Steve Eggleston/HotAir

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office released its cost esimtate on the current bipartisan budget deal. The topline of a net $16 billion in direct “spending reductions” and $7 billion in brand-new revenues (read – taxes) in exchange for $62 billion in new discretionary spending versus the sequester this fiscal year and next seems impressive.

◼ Americans for Limited Government found a whole lot of DC Math in that... The Ryan budget fraud is even worse after you read it...