Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) brings the budget debate to this basic question: will we continue to spend money we don’t have, or will the federal government return to responsible management after decades of debt expansion? After wryly thanking the Fox anchor for repeating the hyperbolic and demagogic comments of Democrats over the issue of entitlement reform, McCotter explains that Republicans may not have all the answers — but so far, the GOP is the only party offering any answers.  That puts the issue in stark relief — will Americans cheer for solvency or bankruptcy?

The Democrats’ doing nothing and spending everything approach means that we’ll have bankruptcy; the Republican reform approach means that we’ll have solvency.

It may take another election to determine just how seriously the American people take this, but indications from Democrats are that they may have finally realized that the nation has arrived at a watershed moment.  Obama now plans to roll out a do-over on his budget projections just a few weeks after submitting his latest to Congress, which didn’t even address entitlement reform.  Until that happens, Paul Ryan has the high ground as the only one talking the language of actual spending reductions and fiscal reform.

This isn’t a debate over Grandma eating dog food or applying a “scalpel” to entitlements any longer.  With debt approaching 100% of GDP, the debate is whether we will choose bankruptcy over common sense, and time is running out on solutions that hold the pain of reform to moderate levels.