That's Megan's proposal for the GOP for solving this country's profound problems - and fiscal crisis:
If Republicans try to act as if they have a mandate, they are going to find themselves in deep, deep trouble. Or rather, they'd better keep that mandate narrow. The public will probably be happy enough with narrowly targeted obstruction--I do think they can get away with a showdown over the health care bill, for example.
Krauthammer takes the cynicism to the deepest level:
"If you're Republican, I think it works rather well in terms of strategy for 12. You really didn't want control of the two houses because then Obama could do a Truman where he ran against the do-nothing Congress and ran for re-election. If you put too much of the actual official power in the hands of the Republicans, it makes them responsible. Right now, I think they're in perfect position tactically. Control the House, object, propose stuff that Obama may veto and run on that against him in 2012.”
What we seem to be facing in the next two years is a president actually trying to govern a country in a profound crisis, and an opposition focused entirely on harassing or preventing him ... while running for 2012. My view is a relatively simple one: the GOP ran on cutting spending. I think their first move should be to propose a path to balancing the budget in the foreseeable future. I want to see their actual proposals on entitlements and defense. They refused to reveal them before the election. Are we supposed to wait till 2013?
On that, we can judge their seriousness and the validity of the Tea Party's alleged fiscal conservatism.
(Photo: House Republican Leader John Boehner (R), R-Ohio, speaks with Republican Whip Eric Cantor (L) on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, November 3, 2010. By Jim Watson/Getty.)