FYI Mr Brooks is on the right.
this is from the NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/opinion/05brooks.html
The Mother of All No-Brainers
By DAVID BROOKS
The Republicans have changed American politics since they took control
of the House of Representatives. They have put spending restraint and
debt reduction at the top of the national agenda. They have sparked a
discussion on entitlement reform. They have turned a bill to raise the
debt limit into an opportunity to put the U.S. on a stable fiscal
course.
Republican leaders have also proved to be effective negotiators. They
have been tough and inflexible and forced the Democrats to come to
them. The Democrats have agreed to tie budget cuts to the debt ceiling
bill. They have agreed not to raise tax rates. They have agreed to a
roughly 3-to-1 rate of spending cuts to revenue increases, an
astonishing concession.
Moreover, many important Democrats are open to a truly large budget
deal. President Obama has a strong incentive to reach a deal so he can
campaign in 2012 as a moderate. The Senate majority leader, Harry
Reid, has talked about supporting a debt reduction measure of $3
trillion or even $4 trillion if the Republicans meet him part way.
There are Democrats in the White House and elsewhere who would be
willing to accept Medicare cuts if the Republicans would be willing to
increase revenues.
If the Republican Party were a normal party, it would take advantage
of this amazing moment. It is being offered the deal of the century:
trillions of dollars in spending cuts in exchange for a few hundred
billion dollars of revenue increases.
A normal Republican Party would seize the opportunity to put a
long-term limit on the growth of government. It would seize the
opportunity to put the country on a sound fiscal footing. It would
seize the opportunity to do these things without putting any real
crimp in economic growth.
The party is not being asked to raise marginal tax rates in a way that
might pervert incentives. On the contrary, Republicans are merely
being asked to close loopholes and eliminate tax expenditures that are
themselves distortionary.
This, as I say, is the mother of all no-brainers.
But we can have no confidence that the Republicans will seize this
opportunity. That’s because the Republican Party may no longer be a
normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a
faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical,
governing alternative.
The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no
matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch
in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask
them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will
still say no.
The members of this movement do not accept the legitimacy of scholars
and intellectual authorities. A thousand impartial experts may tell
them that a default on the debt would have calamitous effects, far
worse than raising tax revenues a bit. But the members of this
movement refuse to believe it.
The members of this movement have no sense of moral decency. A nation
makes a sacred pledge to pay the money back when it borrows money. But
the members of this movement talk blandly of default and are willing
to stain their nation’s honor.
The members of this movement have no economic theory worthy of the
name. Economists have identified many factors that contribute to
economic growth, ranging from the productivity of the work force to
the share of private savings that is available for private investment.
Tax levels matter, but they are far from the only or even the most
important factor.
But to members of this movement, tax levels are everything. Members of
this tendency have taken a small piece of economic policy and turned
it into a sacred fixation. They are willing to cut education and
research to preserve tax expenditures. Manufacturing employment is
cratering even as output rises, but members of this movement somehow
believe such problems can be addressed so long as they continue to
worship their idol.
Over the past week, Democrats have stopped making concessions. They
are coming to the conclusion that if the Republicans are fanatics then
they better be fanatics, too.
The struggles of the next few weeks are about what sort of party the
G.O.P. is — a normal conservative party or an odd protest movement
that has separated itself from normal governance, the normal rules of
evidence and the ancient habits of our nation.
If the debt ceiling talks fail, independent voters will see that
Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If
responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude
that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude
that Republicans are not fit to govern.
And they will be right.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: July 5, 2011
An earlier version of this column misstated the amount of revenue
increases needed in exchange for spending cuts as a few hundred
million.