I think it's still a little early to start fretting over the new Congress before it ever gets sworn in. I keep hearing that this tax bill is another huge stimulus, but that's only true if you think the Republicans could have gotten spending cuts equivalent to the amount taxes would have increased if the Bush tax cuts had expired. Right now, they don't have that kind of clout. Senator DeMint wants to make them permanent, as do I, but considering that Obama and the majority in the Senate will remain for another two years, that's not a choice we have right now.

We're all concerned about the propensity of Republicans to go squishy, but I think the leadership has gotten the message that they're all on probation and the people want spending cut, preferably by repealing Obamacare. It's not easy to override vetoes. The primary job next year is to restrain the Democrats and keep pushing for spending cuts. But it certainly seems like they got a break when Obama agreed to extend the tax cuts. That alone gives them more incentive to keep pushing for less spending.

One part of that is going to be reforming Social Security and Medicare. That will be the real test of how serious the tea party is.