Growing a Spine?

At first I was fearful, then hopeful, now I am just resigned. After today's love fest between Republicans and Barack Obama, I feared that they were going to just cave in on the stimulus porkage being offered up by the administration. Then I saw Drudge's headline "NO!" and thought great, now the Republicans are growing a spine and standing up to a permanent increase in government spending and race to socialism disguised as a stimulus bill. The bill proposes to give tax credits to people who pay no income taxes at all. If that isn't socialism, what is?

But then I started thinking about the Republican track record of late. It occurred to me that this is all just posturing to extract some concessions from Obama and then they'll go along, or enough will, to give a show of "bipartisanship." If the concessions are meaningful, then I say great, but Obama made it clear that he is not going to compromise on the tax credit issue. Why not? Because it allows the Democrats to buy votes from poorer Americans who will get hooked on this juice and just want more and more. It's a form of European socialism that will wreck this country, so no matter what other concessions Obama might grant, the tax credit issue is a deal breaker on which there should be no compromise.