“The Republican leadership has committed to this $100 billion cut… I expect them to do everything in their power to enact it. They’re on the record, they ran on this, and if it’s brushed aside there would be harsh political consequences,” – Brian Riedel, Heritage budget-wonk, last November.
Allahpundit isn't quite buying the argument that it's all about the shorter fiscal year. He's surely right about this:
This is what we’ve been reduced to — the suspense of wondering whether the new Republican majority can achieve cuts that will barely make a dent in our annual budget shortfall. Hugely depressing.
But it's depressing, it seems to me, precisely because it is meaningless in terms of the real fiscal situation. To nitpick over $100 billion in discretionary spending – and to try and use this as a unifying theme for the opposition – is not just bad politics; it's a surreal diversion from reality. What's needed is an embrace of comprehensive fiscal reform – on the Bowles-Simpson model. And only the president can get us there – and is being given a golden opportunity by the GOP to own the issue they currently weakly claim.
The Dish 