Perhaps the Tea Party is doing some good after all

I have to admit, after some early back-pedaling by certain Tea Party backed elected officials, I was ready to write them off en masse. Current events are indicating that I may have been premature in that judgment.

While the old-school Republicans are intent on business as usual (you know, sort of like a home seller that gives a fresh coat of paint to a house where the wiring and plumbing are substandard and the roof leaks), it seems that others are trying to actually forcing them to move toward fixing things, at least after a fashion.

Looking to put the discord behind them, Republican leaders on Thursday outlined $26 billion in additional spending cuts after an earlier proposal was decried as too timid by more conservative members of the caucus. The latest proposal pushes spending down to 2008 levels, which Republicans had vowed to reach.

Of course, I’d rather see 1908 levels of spending, which, even if adjusted for inflation, would trim the government back to something we could live with. And if we could do it without the adjustment…oh, be still my beating heart!