The Republican Party showed once again today that it had no interest in the fiscal solvency of the United States. So much for running the country like a business! Sheryl Gay Stolberg has the story in tomorrow's New York Times.

President Bush's tax cuts survived an important challenge in the Senate on Wednesday, when lawmakers voted by the narrowest of margins to defeat budget language that would have made it more difficult to extend the cuts for another five years.

In a 50-50 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate rejected so-called pay-as-you-go rules, which would have required that any tax cuts or new spending programs be offset with savings in other areas. Last year, the Senate approved the rules, prompting a dispute with the House that ultimately prevented Congress from passing a budget.

Which party can run the government more efficiently? All 45 members of the Democratic caucus (44 Dems plus the Independent Jim Jeffords) supported the PAYGO measure, along with five principled Republicans (Chafee, Collins, McCain, Snowe and Voinovich).

The fact is that the Republicans are not fit to run the United States government. They inherited a $5 trillion surplus and turned that into a $4 trillion deficit. They continue to push for excessive tax breaks for the wealthy at the same time as they try to slash Medicaid for the elderly, poor and disabled. These tax cuts also balloon the deficit that future generations will have to pay off.

When the Democrats run on a platform of anti-corruption next year, they should seriously consider talking about fiscal sanity. If they can create a clear and cogent plan integrating these two lines of attack, 2006 won't be such a bad year for the Dems.