Republican leaders in the Congress have been making it clear in recent days that they are ready to go to the mat with Democrats and the White House again on spending and the debt limit, bringing back memories of last year's political battle that was resolved only with a last minute budget deal.
"The issue is the debt," said House Speaker John Boehner, who raised eyebrows in recent days on Capitol Hill by repeatedly saying that he wants only spending cuts to offset any new increase in the nation's debt limit.
"I'm trying to make sure people understand that we are not going to kick the can down the road one more time," Boehner told reporters last week.
Boehner repeated that message on the Sunday talk shows and was backed up by the Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who said now is the "perfect time" to focus on the issue.
"We do need to have another serious discussion about trying to do something significant about the deficit and debt," McConnell said on the CBS program Face the Nation.
Democrats and the White House have given Boehner's talk the back of the hand in recent days, all but ridiculing his suggestion that only budget cuts be used to offset the next debt limit increase, which many expect after the November elections.
" It is simply not acceptable to hold the American and global economy hostage to one party’s political ideology," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
President Obama may get a chance to address the issue when he holds a news conference on Monday in Chicago, as he wraps up a weekend NATO Summit.
Democrats argue the only acceptable deal is a "balanced" approach that includes some budget savings and tax increases - the idea of tax hikes is obviously a non-starter with Republicans.
So, along with the countdown to the "fiscal cliff" at the end of this year, when the Bush tax cuts expire, the payroll tax cut expires, and a host of other tax items are due to run out - is there any room for a deal on all of these items?
