Balanced Budgets Going Mainstream?

For those of us concerned about unsustainable government spending/commitments and our politicians inability to deal with it, reading this lede in the NY Times is a big sign of the times. The realignment to the center-right is upon us (I emphasize the center, unlike republicans who say center-right but mean ultra-conservative-fundamentalist, as in “Those liberal democrats forget that this is a center right nation, where most people would support posting bible verses admonishing masturbation on the inside door of public school bathroom stalls”).

Senator Evan Bayh’s comments this week about a dysfunctional Congress reflected a complaint being directed at Washington with increasing frequency, and there is broad agreement among critics about Exhibit A: The unwillingness of the two parties to compromise to control a national debt that is rising to dangerous heights.

via Payback Time — Party Gridlock in Washington Feeds Fear of a Debt Crisis — Series — NYTimes.com.

Sure, they are mostly likely just trying to spin Evan Bayh’s retirement the best way they can, but the fact that they indicted both parties to do it is a real step forward.