Some Republicans – even some of our well-meaning friends – are foolishly supporting a bipartisan “fiscal commission” to reduce the debt.

But mark our words: this will be a tax increase commission.

Those of us of a certain age remember when in 1982 Ronald Reagan was snookered into a “bipartisan deficit reduction” deal – the benignly named “The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act” – endorsed by then-House Speaker Tip O’Neill. He was promised three dollars of spending cuts for every dollar of new taxes. Well, we got the new taxes and Reagan spent the next six years asking Congress: “when do I get the $3 of spending cuts?” The answer, as it turned out, was never.

George H.W. Bush was suckered into such a “bipartisan” deal which raised taxes, killed the economy, and made him a “one-termer.”

This is such an obvious trap, we’re shocked that ANY Republicans have been bamboozled into it. Jeb Hensarling and Mike Solon reminded us of the perils of this commission last week in the WSJ.

Democrats won’t agree to a single dollar of spending cuts without tax increases “on the rich.” This will slow or even kill growth and investment and make the debt situation worse.

What Republicans SHOULD create is a Government Waste Commission much like the famous Grace Commission of the early 1980s that Reagan started. It identified hundreds of billions of dollars of waste and redundancy in hundreds of agencies. Those savings are now in the multiple trillions of dollars.

Who in the world other than Joe Biden and Chucky Schumer is against eliminating waste?

What Biden wants is a tax increase commission to pay for his $6 trillion spending spree.

NO DEAL. If Republicans go along then we don’t have one, but two stupid and evil parties in Washington.