The Obama administration’s new budget for fiscal year 2013 (begins October 2012) is apparently going to be so bad they have decided to start warning some liberals ahead of time. It’s a direct result of Obama’s incredibly misguided pivot last year to spending cuts and deficit hysteria, a huge political and policy mistake.

When the payroll tax was first proposed last year I thought it was an inherently bad idea. While the economy needed a stimulus, it should never have taken the form of messing with the basic social contract that is the foundation of our social safety net.

So a member of the leadership in Washington is saying that Republicans should refrain from brinksmanship when it comes to the upcoming continuing resolution and the budget fight. That’s not that interesting, what is interesting is who said that, Majority Leader Eric Cantor!

Believe it or not but the oft confused Republican from Virginia sent around a memo laying out the reasons why the House Republicans should not engage in the same kind of economic and policy hostage taking they have been successful with for most of a year.

For weeks the White House has downplayed this as an option, but it is hard to believe Rep. Clyburn would make a public statement like this without the tacit approval of President Obama.

I called Hoyer’s office this morning to ask if he considers cutting the COLA a benefit cut, but haven’t received a response.

This won’t just be a public relations nightmare, but on every imaginable policy level, including environmental, health, government spending, national security, and civil liberties, this is a really terrible idea. I can only hope this is a trial balloon I can soon pop.

As was entirely predictable, the “airstrikes only” campaign in Libya failed to bring down the well-armed and well-financed regime of Moammar Gadhafi . So, what is John McCain’s solution? Even more airstrikes.

It is not surprising that, after months of near-endless deficit hysteria and politicians insisting we need to cut basic services meant to help Americans, the voters have concluded we don’t have a few hundred million to waste on more military adventurism.

By threatening to filibuster the bill, Lee is basically requiring it to get at least 60 votes in the Senate, giving other Senate Republicans leverage to make more “reasonable” hostage demands.

Libya is just another recent reminder that almost no one in Washington actually cares about the deficit. The deficit is only used as an excuse to justify forcing regular Americans to sacrifice.