Republicans acting like Democrats

Note to the Republicans - stop acting like Democrats.

You guys were elected to solve twin problems: the economic slump and government overspending. Those are your top priorities and your chance to prove that you meant it when you said you changed.

That means that you have to put your agenda to one side. Attacking NPR and Planned Parenthood will not balance the budget. Abortion has become less popular over the years but outright attacks on it will likely reverse that trend.

Rather than nibbling away at individual programs with budgets smaller than a rounding error when compared to the budget as a whole, the Republicans need to make wider cuts. They need to push the idea of austerity and shared pain. The public can understand if everything is cut but making partisan cuts makes a mockery of the budget process.

This is exactly the sort of behavior that the Democrats engaged in. The country wanted to see the government focused on jobs and the economy. Instead Obama and the Democrats focused on health care.

On the state level, the attacks on unions are understandable. In many cases unions are providing most of the Democrats' campaign money. Also, states with pay-as-you-go union pension plans are in real financial trouble because of those pension. The Republicans need to make their case against union pensions. They are hobbled by the press. Less than 7% of the population belongs to a union but a lot of reporters are members of the CWA (Communication Workers of America). Some press coverage borders on union cheer-leading. The Republicans need to make their case against pensions without turning anti-union.

And the statehouse Republicans need to back off of abortion. That was not an issue they ran on and attempts to outlaw it will only hurt them.

We took a leap of faith in trusting the Republicans again. They need to show that this was justified.