Another thing to think about regarding Dr. Krauthammer’s take: Whether or not this is a ‘swindle’ will depend on the next two years — and well beyond. If House Republicans go-along-to-get-along in the 112th, ignore the warnings of the Tea Parties, and do little or nothing on spending, then sure, this could shake out bad for conservatives both politically and policy-wise. You’d get a “sugar high” recovery that might benefit Obama 2012, and another dollop of debt on this hot fiscal sundae.
But Speaker-designate Boehner has said the next House will vote on one spending-cut measure a week for the first three months of 2011. These may prove symbolic or they may prove substantial — we won’t know until we see what’s in them. But if they’re followed up with a serious commitment to tackling entitlements and reforming the tax code, for instance, then it’s at least conceivable that the Republicans will have won lower taxes in advance of lower spending, with a conservative-friendly bit of Keynesian stimulus as an added bonus.
The point is that — like those in Congress who at the time called the 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia “Seward’s Folly” — it may be too hasty to say this is a bad deal.