Their long term goal has been to "shrink government" to a size that can be "drowned in a bathtub."

They can't dismantle popular programs like Social Security and Medicare by direct assault, so they claim the mantle of "fiscal conservatism" by sounding the alarm over budget deficits and calling for "entitlement" reform. After they jacked up the deficits themselves with huge tax cuts for the rich and wars of choice like Iraq which cost $trillions while subsidizing the military industrial complex.

The biggest "entitlements" are actually earned benefits working Americans paid for with deductions from our paychecks to ensure healthcare and a modest pension after a lifetime of essential work. This is where framing and code words come into play. "Entitlement" sounds more like something that is not "earned."

Even though Republicans have been quite successful with their framing and narrative, real cuts to Social Security and Medicare are a hard sell. Hence, their long term strategy to "Starve the Beast" of funds to convince the public these programs are unaffordable and tough choices (entitlement reform) have to be made.

And the only way to do that is with Huge. Budget. Deficits.

In the richest country in the world, the wealth generated by the work of everyone in the economy is increasingly concentrated in fewer hands at the top -- those who fund the political careers of the politicians who serve at their pleasure.

Republicans WANT deficits. Republicans NEED deficits.