Democrats have been feigning concern over federal spending and deficits since before the election, but now that they’re in power and in control of the purse strings it sure doesn’t look like they’re going to be very deliberate in their appropriations:

House Republicans such as party whip Roy Blunt of Missouri slammed Democrats plans to advance the huge $463.5 billion measure through the House Wednesday without giving Republicans or rank and file Democrats a chance to offer changes in an Appropriations Committee session or on the floor.

Most lawmakers — and the public — were to get their first chances to read the budget tome Tuesday, barely a day before the House was supposed to vote it up or down.

But Democrats such as Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey of Wisconsin had little sympathy, saying Republicans wouldn’t make tough budget choices before the election and didn’t try to clean up the mess afterward in a lame duck session.

Rep. Obey is right, I think, to criticize Republicans for not cleaning up spending while they were in power.  I’d go so far as to say that the profligacy of Republican spending while in power is a biggest reason (along with corruption and scandal) while the GOP is out of power right now.  But be that as it may, I don’t think it excuses the Democrats from introducing $463+ billion in spending in the House and then trying to railroad it through in less than 24 hours, barely giving most Representatives a chance to review the spending and debate it.

Why do Democrats want to spend hundreds of billions of our tax dollars with little or no debate or review in the House?  That doesn’t seem very fiscally responsible to this observer.