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On "This Week," Greta Van Susteren failed miserably in her attempt to explain Republicans' ideological refusal to raise taxes.

VAN SUSTEREN: The reason we have paralysis is because we don't have the money. And I think people want to take care of people. I don't think people want to take the safety net away from people who really need it. Because Americans are really good, decent people.

If we didn't have a revenue fight in terms of how much money we have, the condition of the economy, the condition of the national debt, we wouldn't be having half of these fights. And the two parties might be able to come together a little bit better if we fundamentally got this economy up and roaring, we'd be fighting a little bit --

Where does one even begin to unpack this mess?

Let's start with her claim that "people" don't want to "take the safety net away" with the fact that Republicans have signed on to a budget which slashes the safety net to give tax cuts to rich people, authored by an Ayn Rand disciple who once complained that the nation's "takers" outnumbered our "makers" and famously derided Social Security as a "hammock."

Oh, and by the way, the new chairman of the Heritage Foundation just went on Van Susteren's network and basically called 70 million Americans welfare queens.

So to argue Republicans don't want to get rid of the safety net is to literally argue that up is down.

But the oddest thing about Van Susteren's Palin-esque word salad is the first sentence:

The reason we have paralysis is because we don't have the money.

The government's "money" (or revenue) comes from taxes, which are currently at historic lows and which the GOP absolutely refuses to raise.

So Van Susteren is saying, in effect: Republicans are refusing to raise taxes because tax revenue is so low.

What?

To be fair, shilling for an unpopular party that wants to slash benefits for poor people to give billionaires lower taxes is never easy these days. But Van Susteren really made a mess of it this morning.

President Obama's second Inaugural was the spirited, full-throated defense of the role that government plays in making our society more just that liberals have been waiting to hear for years. While most pundits focused on what the speech said about Obama, I think it's more significant in what it says about the Republican Party, especially in this key passage:

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.

There has always been an element on the far right that opposed the programs of the New Deal and Great Society. But no Republican presidents -- from Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush -- made a serious efforts to overturn them. Why? Because, as President Eisenhower once wrote, it would be terrible politics.

Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are H. L. Hunt (you possibly know his background), a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.

But what used to be a "splinter" fringe in the GOP somewhere along the line became the GOP. When George W. Bush tried to privatize Social Security after mentioning it in his 2nd Inaugural, his effort was soundly rejected by the electorate, and the GOP was routed in 2006 and 2008 at the polls. And what did Republicans do in response? Nominate for the Vice Presidency an Ayn Rand devotee who wants to end Social Security, whose budget (which they passed) ended Medicare as we know it, and who once called the majority of Americans "takers." Mitt Romney was at the top of the ticket, but make no mistake: this is Paul Ryan's party.

That Obama had to defend the New Deal and Great Society in his inaugural -- programs that stretch back 80 years -- says a lot more about the radicalization of the GOP than it does him.

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So this whole process was a sorry mess, and for progressives, there were plenty of disappointments along the way. (I will get back to those.) We also have far bigger battles ahead. (I will get back to those, too.) But one of my themes in life with my fellow progressives is that we need to do a better job celebrating what we win, and we won a lot this round. It’s worth taking a moment to celebrate those victories while we get ready for the next round. Celebrating victories is important, as all the great progressive movement leaders have known well- it empowers people, and makes them believe that victory is possible so they should keep fighting.

For many progressives, including me, we had four major goals going into this budget battle. First priority: that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits- the most important safety net for low and middle income Americans- not be cut. These three programs are the heart and soul of the New Deal and Great Society programs passed by progressives in generations past. They are by far the biggest and most successful social insurance programs ever created in American history, and are central both to our ability to protect our most vulnerable citizens and to our efforts to keep the middle class from being hollowed even more.

These programs, especially Social Security, were in dire danger throughout these negotiations, with Obama and Pelosi and Republicans all willing to make cuts. But because of Republican stubbornness on taxes and strong progressive pushback, in the final deal, Social Security and the other two programs were saved. That is a huge, huge victory- but one that will only be preserved if we keep fighting, and fighting hard, because the Republicans got politically destroyed on this deal and will be even more determined to attack these programs going forward.

A second major goal was more tax revenue from the wealthiest Americans and again, this deal got that done. Not nearly enough-- obviously, the compromises on the 250K vs. 450K threshold and the estate tax are disappointing. As far as I am concerned, we should have a higher top rate than 39.6% on wealthy Americans, it should kick in at $200,000 rather than 250 or 450, and we ought to have a carbon tax and financial transactions tax as well. But a Republican controlled House significantly increased taxes on the top 1% for the first time since early in the first term of the Eisenhower administration, almost 60 years ago. Before that, I think you have to go back to the Civil War 150 years ago to have a Republican-controlled House that raised taxes for high income people That is a big deal, and well worth celebrating.

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