Even before President Obama signed the debt-ceiling deal into law on Tuesday, leading Democrats and Republicans started preparing for the next budget battle — picking members of the "super committee" that will spend this fall deciding how to cut $1.5 trillion from the deficit over the next 10 years. The White House says Democratic committee members will propose shrinking deficits with both spending cuts and new revenue from tax reform, while Republicans will insist on keeping the discussion focused on spending cuts alone. If the super committee fails to draft a bi-partisan plan, or if Congress fails to approve it by December 23, across-the-board spending cuts will be automatically triggered. Who will come out on top in this next fight?
Republicans can prevail if they don't blink: "The key to winning the next round is pretty simple," says James C. Capretta at National Review. "Under no circumstances should the GOP appoint members to the joint committee who are willing to entertain tax increases." That way Democrats will have to either give up on tax hikes or face the deep, automatic spending cuts that will be triggered if the super committee is deadlocked. "If Republicans stand firm again," they can win the next battle, too.
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