Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-South Carolina) represents the true spirit and substance of compromise.
He is willing to support revenue increases, he agrees to cuts in military expenditures. He is willing to work across the aisle to reform entitlements.
Most importantly, he has stayed true to principle and refused to endorse any deals which do not cut the spending. The latest fiscal cliff fiasco impounded the growing fissures in both parties, with liberals and conservatives drawing their lines in the sand.
There is good compromise, which cuts spending, and there is bad compromise, which increases revenue with no cuts.
He likened the President's dealings to a potential home-buyer approaching a homeowner who offers "one dollar" for the house. The offer is so unserious, the seller would, and should, slam the door in the proposer's face.
This metaphor best describes the President. He claims that he wants to balance the budget, but he has done nothing but demand more money. When will Republicans step up and and explain that all of the tax increases in the world will not fix the budget problem in Washington? Aside from US Senator Pat Toomey, who has signaled his support for a government shut-down, US Senator Tom Coburn reminded everyone on the December 30, 2012 edition of Face the Nation that all the added revenue will increase the size of the government, not reduce the size of the federal deficit.
A growing deficit is a subtle tax increase on middle-class incomes, no question about it. Inflation, "quantitative easing", fiat money, all of this excess erodes consumer savings and consumer confidence. The whole money-printing madness is just extreme with no end in sight.
Congressman Mulvaney defines good compromise: respect for the other side, but stern demands for debt reduction and entitlement reform.
Republicans and conservatives need to stop worrying about the next election, stand on their principles, and demand that the federal government stop spending money that this country does not have. As even President Obama admitted: "It's not about politics. It's about math."