I've figured out an essential part of the Republican strategy.
While increasing spending faster than Lyndon Johnson, they have not spent that money on any new generally identifiable government project, other than the Medicare Prescription drug horror. The key, it seems to spending tax money without having the public complain about it is simply to waste that money. That way, all you do is balloon the deficit - a thing that most people don't understand and are never made to care about (at least in this age of relatively low interest rates).
These "budget cuts" are purely, purely symbolic and a patently obvious attempt to take advantage of voter ignorance and blame poor people for the budget deficit.
This sinister, cynical philosophy of simply spending the money on useless pork is fantastic because the Democrats are unable to critique it. They are so attached to this "Democrats spend federal money, Republicans are niggardly" idea that they cannot react to this Republican behavior. What we see among Democrats and I think we even see here on this list is an inflexible message. Meanwhile the Right are more in touch with why they believe what they believe (how it operates in the class struggle they are trying to win) and are far more flexible.
boddi