Price Of Admission

Ramesh Pannuru's op-ed in the NY Times is quite odd:  if anything it's a tacit admission that Republicans aren't going to every try to govern because they can't.  The party of "personal responsibility" shouldn't even try to mess with Social Security or Medicare, because they'll only pay for it in 2012.  Why not just do nothing and blame Obama instead?  This isnt hyperbole, folks...this is his actual admonition to Republicans in the column.

Reforming these programs is vital to our nation’s long-term fiscal health — which is why Republicans should resist this advice and leave the issue alone. Reform is impossible this year or next unless President Obama takes the lead on it. What’s more, Republicans have no mandate for reform, and a failed attempt will only set back the cause. 

Wait a minute.  I thought the story of the entire 2010 election was "the Tea Party has a mandate for change and reform now!"  That's certainly what candidate after candidate promised on the campaign trail.  Gosh, you mean it was all a cynical ploy to gain power just to lock up the machinery of government and blame the Democrats in order to win in 2012?

Steve M. calls him out cold.

In other words: Yeah, we said over and over and over again in the last two years that we're going to be the bestest fiscal stewards in this country ever, the hawkiest of deficit hawks; we're going to take on the tough challenges, and we hate big government ... but, er, um, if we actually do try to alter entitlement programs in a way that follows logically from our own incessant rhetoric, well, voters will be mean to us! And for us, that will really, really suck!

Unless, as Ponnuru says, President Obama sticks his neck out first -- and if he doesn't, well, then inaction is all his fault. Republicans are completely, totally blameless!

Wow.  Ponnuru is basically copping to the entire GOP Plan:  do nothing, watch the country burn, blame Obama.  He continues:

They should begin by freezing or cutting government payrolls, including in the legislative branch — something Republicans have already started doing. Message: the federal government is not just imposing sacrifices but sharing them. Then they should get control of the discretionary, or non-entitlement, portions of the budget, which are small only in comparison with entitlements. Only after winning those fights, and probably electing a new president, should the old-age entitlements be up for reform. 

And after completely admitting the Secret GOP Plan for 2011, he completely gives the plan away for 2012 and 2013 too:  dupe the American public into voting in a Republican President so they can completely gut Social Security and Medicare.  Vote Republican, we're going to screw everybody under 55!

Dude's freely admitting this in the NY Times editorial section.

Hey Democrats, are you paying attention here?  You might want to point out this column on Sunday, just saying.