GOP Plans Budget Cuts - But Where?

Prior to the Nov. 2 election, and now afterwards, GOP leaders have promised $100,000,000,000 in spending cuts in the next year. This is supposed to be in discretionary spending, without touching the military's budget.

This sounds like, and is, a bunch of money. It isn't what it used to be, thanks to Obama's out of control spending. $100,000,000,000 just isn't as much as it used to be - but it is still a very large chunk of money.

News organizations and Democrats have been pushing these GOP leaders to be specific on what they will cut. Some of the questioning has been blunt - who will you upset, what critical programs will go away and how will they affect the people who are dependent on them? Even some of the more conservative commentators, those who supported the GOP ascension, are asking, and asking hard.

So far, the GOP has refused to start giving a list of items they will attack. This is very smart on their part. Identifying spcific programs and cuts at this point in time would allow Democrats and proponents of programs that are targeted to fight back. It would give the Democrat controlled lame duck Congress time to move to protect those programs. It would give special interests a head start on working to defend the programs they benefit from. Lobbyists would have plenty of time to prepare to fight for their causes.

This is smart, and the GOP should not give in to the temptation to start laying out the cuts until the new Congress is sworn in and can begin the work on cutting out that $100,000,000,000 of wasteful spending.