First, let's be clear. Republicans don't give a rat's behind about deficits or the national debt. Their hero Ronald Reagan tripled it, George W. Bush doubled it -- and Dick Cheney famously said that deficits don't matter. That Paul Ryan proposal Republicans love so much? Yep, it makes the debt worse.

All of that background makes this rather amusing indeed.

National Republicans, paired with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, will focus their attention this week on President Barack Obama's handing of the national debt, the groups announced Monday.

The effort will include a "major policy speech" from Romney, according to Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, who was part of a conference call announcing the effort Monday morning.

"Governor Romney will be in Des Moines tomorrow afternoon at Drake University to give a major policy speech and it'll be based on the out-of-control spending and debt," King said on the call.

First, there is no "out of control spending" -- that's a lie. Total government spending under Obama has decreased. The debt is where it is because taxes are at historic lows and revenues are even more depressed by the fact that we're still emerging from the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression.

Second, if Willard is so worried about the debt, why does he want add trillions to it?

Romney proposed to cut federal income tax rates by 20 percent more for all earners, which would slash U.S. revenue by more than $2 trillion over 10 years.

Romney economic adviser Glenn Hubbard said the lost cash would be recovered by closing tax loopholes and boosting economic activity. But until the campaign offers a more specific plan, Budget Watch analysts said Romney’s entire framework would add about $2.6 trillion to the debt by 2021.

Proving, yet again, that Republicans don't care about debt and deficits.

You wish, just once, that a reporter would ask, "Governor, if the debt is such a problem, why do your tax proposals add trillions of dollars to it?" But that's probably asking too much.