Here we go again with the Republicans and the CBO. The CBO is either the most respected nonpartisan arbiter of federal spending, or it's not, depending on whether Republicans like what they're hearing. CBO Director Doug Elmendorf's warnings about cutting too much too soon falls into the "we don't want to hear it" category.

Dave Camp, [...] Michigan Republican, and chair of the House Ways and Means Committee said he disagreed with Elmendorf's cautionary testimony. "I think that one of the things we have to keep in mind is what we're charged with and the amount of debt reduction this represents in terms of our entire debt and how significant that is," Camp said. "As I said in my questioning of him, it's about three percent of outlays that we're looking at. It's about one percent of our GDP over the next decade. So I don't think that triggers the kinds of dynamics he was testifying to in other areas."

In other words, the CBO is once again just offering their "opinion." Boehner and Camp, to Elmendorf: