An unexpected Swedish victory is just the latest in an unprecedented run of success worldwide for fiscally conservative parties, beginning after the Greek debt crisis in April, which should sound both optimistic and cautionary notes for GOP leaders.

Because of massive, sustained budget deficits by several eurozone countries, some could default on their sovereign debt obligations, or the euro itself might disintegrate, profoundly affecting the EU’s political and economic future. Very little media attention, however, is focused on a very different, but even more important, EU problem, namely its “democratic deficit.”

The good news is that much of Santorum's plan is centered on lowering taxes. The bad news is that much of his tax relief is either welfare in disguise, or social engineering.

The new prescription drug benefit will be a fiscally irresponsible subsidy with astronomical long-term costs.

While the media has focused on the rise of the Tea Party movement and the success of conservative insurgents in GOP primaries, there is a quiet insurgency taking place under the radar of more moderate Republicans for whom fiscal discipline is not a top priority.

If Obama's health care plan passes, then we may well end up paying for it with federal slips of paper worth less than California's.

By deliberately fomenting budget gridlock and conflict to score political points, the president and members of Congress are behaving shamefully in their role as stewards of government.

Many still do not realize how close we came to Depression-like disaster, and how much the fiscal policies the Bush and Obama administrations were responsible for keeping us out of economic hell, even if the result was economic purgatory.