I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the stability of this platform I'm standing on.

I'm becoming increasingly concerned about the stability of this platform I'm standing on.

At this point, analyzing Republican duplicity any further than simply stating it as a conclusion is just too tiresome to contemplate. Even writing this post is in many ways too tiresome to contemplate. So I'm going to make it easy on myself and on you, the reader. Why is it time—indeed, well past time—to call out Republicans, as Senate Dems did earlier today?

Here are a few, but by no means all, easily recalled examples. Consider:

Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health insurance mandate morphs into the Affordable Care Act, but Republicans suddenly learn to hate the individual mandate at the heart of both plans

Republicans insist tax cuts never have to be "paid for" with spending cuts, then demand that the 1099 reporting provisions that have the effect of increasing tax liabilities for business be repealed; Democrats agree to repeal them (thus lowering business tax liabilities), and Republicans block the move because the cuts aren't paid for

Senate GOP demands a vote on permanent extension of Bush tax cuts, is offered such a vote, then blocks their own deal

January's Senate rules reform fight ends with an agreement that, in part, includes a deal to pass a bill reducing the number of presidential nominations requiring Senate approval, thus lowering the number of potential filibusters gumming up the works. When the bill is ready to move to the floor, Republicans attempt to block it

And today's "news" (not a knock on the reporting, just noting that we've seen this movie before): Democrats are increasingly concerned that Republicans are setting them up to endorse large spending cuts in a deal to raise the national debt limit without giving ground on anything -- even GOP-friendly policy measures like tax cuts for business owners -- to stimulate the economy in the near-term. The concern arises as numerous top Republicans react coldly to the prospect of temporarily reducing the payroll tax burden on employers and employees -- to juice the economy before federal spending draws down in the years ahead.

Hmm. Well, the first reaction from Dems, that they're "increasingly concerned," seems obviously inadequate, if at least purported to be headed in the right direction. It didn't seem to be leading them to any interesting conclusions about the nature of the people they're "negotiating" with, though. At least none they were willing to share publicly, lest they sour those "negotiations" (as though that were possible). Until recently, anyway.

It's not like there were a hell of a lot of options, of course. You still had to lay the foundation for this, by showing up and being seen at least trying to do the job of governing. And in the end, it won't necessarily be a bad thing if this particular tax cut doesn't fly. But I, probably like most of you, had been becoming "increasingly concerned" that there's wasn't much enthusiasm out there for the platform of "increasing concern."

What to do? No easy answers there. But this was beginning to look like another in a series of spork-to-a-gunfight moments.

That is, until earlier today.

Kudos to TPMDC's Brian Beutler. He's driving a good story here, and Dems have done well and will continue to do well to charge through this open door.