Every Republican running for office last week ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, cutting spending, and cutting the deficit. They have now proven what we always knew: They'll lie about everything to win.

Since the election, the Bush tax cuts have been the big prize for Republicans. Flush with the power of an imagined mandate, they're strutting around on Fox News crowing about how they will not compromise on tax cuts. That's too bad, because it means the Bush tax cuts will all expire in a couple of months, and the rich folks are going to have to suck it up and pay the big bucks to Uncle Sam next year. Unfortunately, it also means the middle class will be hit with higher taxes, though not significantly higher than in previous years since the lions' share of tax cuts went to the upper 1%. Since incomes haven't risen substantially for many middle class workers, it may be mostly a wash, but count on Republicans to say otherwise, loudly, repeatedly and often, using their propaganda platform over at Fox as an amplifier.

In their usual inimitable fashion, they are wagging their fingers (or waving their middle finger, take your choice), crossing their arms, stomping their tiny little hooves, and saying "Screw you all if we don't get ours."

Via The Hill:

House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) threw cold water on the proposed plan, which would temporarily extend tax cuts for the wealthy while permanently extending tax cuts for the middle class. “Taxes shouldn't be going up on anybody right now,” Cantor said.

Cantor’s comments Monday evening on Fox News follow similar remarks from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the incoming senior Republican on the Senate’s tax-writing committee. While Hatch expressed an open mind to extending tax cuts past the 2012 election rather than permanently extending the rates, he also ruled out the decoupling proposal.

Of course, we know that taxes aren't going UP, they're simply going back to the rate structure that actually lowered the deficit and had us on track to paying off the national debt by the middle of this decade. But they will continue to claim it's a tax increase, while they also continue to dodge the question of how they think letting these breaks expire somehow constitutes a tax increase.

If we had a press that actually spoke truth to power, someone would outline their strategy, which includes trying to push those tax cuts into the 2012 election, so they can use the ballooned deficit as evidence of the Obama administration's "fiscal irresponsibility" while crowing to their adoring crowds about how they "lowered taxes" for everyone.

If we had a press that actually spoke truth to power, someone would take the time to frame taxes as a necessary part of living in a responsible society that takes care of its infrastructure, its poor, educates its children and leaves no one begging in the gutter.

But we don't, so they get away with going on Fox News and CNBC and complaining about how it's all the Democrats' fault tax rates are higher. Let them. They are, after all, the party who thinks they have all the power after they won one chamber of the legislature last week. Let them take the blame, but the credit will be on those who actually tried to be responsible and responsive.

The 2012 campaign should kick off on January 1, 2011 with four words: Republicans Lie to You.

I don't think liberals expected to have to work quite this hard to get Obama's support on so many of his campaign promises:

Reporting from Washington -- Slowly over the last few weeks, some of Barack Obama's most fervent supporters have come to an unhappy realization: The candidate who they thought was squarely on their side in policy fights is now a president who needs cajoling and persuading.

Advocates for stem cell research thought Obama would quickly sign an order to reverse former President Bush's restrictions on the science. Now they are fretting over Obama's statement that he wants to act in tandem with Congress, possibly causing a delay.

Critics of Bush's faith-based initiative thought Obama had promised to end religious discrimination among social service groups taking federal money.

But Obama, in announcing his own faith-based program this month, said only that the discrimination issue might be reviewed.

And Obama's recent moves regarding a lawsuit by detainees have left some liberal groups and Bush critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, feeling betrayed, given that Obama was a harsh critic of Bush's detainee policies when running for office last year.

The anxiety is also being felt in the labor movement, one of Obama's most important support bases. Some union officials and their allies are frustrated that at a crucial point in negotiations over his massive stimulus package, Obama seemed to call for limits on "Buy American" provisions in the bill aimed at making sure stimulus money would be spent on U.S.-made materials.

Obama has been president for less than a month, and his liberal critics concede that the economic crisis has understandably taken the focus off their issues. But some of the issues in play were crucial to building excitement on the left and mobilizing grass-roots support for Obama's candidacy.

"He made very clear promises, and he should live up to them," said Arthur Stamoulis, director of the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, which received an unqualified "yes" from Obama on a campaign questionnaire last year when the group asked if he would support "Buy American" requirements. "The fact that he's hedging on this is not promising. He's catering much too much to the desires of Republicans who are not going to support the change that voters wanted."

Thea Lee, policy director of the AFL-CIO, said, "We would like to have him stand more forthrightly behind the positions that he took during the campaign."

Breaking: Libby Indicted

CNN is reporting: Libby is charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

5 counts:
2 Perjury
2 Making false statements
1 Obstruction of Justice

Wonkette: Fox is reporting that Scooter Libby has submitted his resignation. Does this mean that someone has the paperwork somewhere?

First time in a 130 years a White House official has been indicted. Reddhedd is live blogging...So much for Bush's 2000 campaign promises. Something about bringing integrity back to the White House.

(Update): Read the indictment here and here

Steve Gilliard writes: Why a Libby indictment is crucial

Pamela has more...Talk Left is live blogging Fitzgerald's press conference.

Merry Fitzmas!