WOW! That was a short honeymoon with spending cuts!

WASHINGTON – Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell says banning pork-barrel projects known as "earmarks" from congressional legislation is more complicated than it appears but that he is willing to consider such a ban.
McConnell says that ending the common practice of slipping funding requests for home-state projects into legislation won't cut spending. A ban on earmarks will only limit the discretion of where to spend the vast federal budget and not curb spending.
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From Slate - Matthew Kaminski had the bright idea of interviewing Rand Paul and Roy Blunt, two of the GOP's newest senators, back to back. If he was looking for evidence that the GOP establishment was ready to dismiss or co-opt Paul, he found it.

Mr. Blunt says Republicans are happy to embrace most tea party causes. He'd back a balanced budget amendment and endorses term limits—à la Rand Paul. And earmarks? Mr. Blunt pauses. "Rand doesn't agree with his dad on that. His dad is a leading advocate of earmarks on this side of the building. I'll let the Pauls work that out and then I'll see where they come down." We share a laugh over that.

Rand Paul won't stand for that, will he?

In a bigger shift from his campaign pledge to end earmarks, he tells me that they are a bad "symbol" of easy spending but that he will fight for Kentucky's share of earmarks and federal pork, as long as it's doled out transparently at the committee level and not parachuted in in the dead of night. "I will advocate for Kentucky's interests," he says.

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BOWLING GREEN — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul said he would vote to extend federal tax cuts even without proposed spending cuts, a move that would dramatically deepen a federal debt he has railed against.

Paul, who has built his campaign around opposing big government and a $13.4 trillion national debt, said it would be better to pair the tax cuts with a plan to reduce spending.
However, asked if he would vote to extend the tax cuts without corresponding spending cuts, Paul said, "Absolutely. The money is not the government's. It is ours."

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/16/1436998/rand-paul-supports-tax-cut-extension.html#ixzz14nOetXYK
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From Politico - Sen.-elect Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he won't vote to raise the debt limit ceiling -- but he doesn't expect  the government to go into default over the issue.
"We need to send a strong message," Paul said. He added, though, that not enough members of Congress would vote against raising the debt limit, making a default of government loans unlikely.
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Well THERE IT IS, folks!  Remember the good old days (2 weeks ago) when the GOPEAParty was crowing about limiting government, less spending, lower debt?  Other than a token vote by Paul (WHERE IS THE FILIBUSTER, RAND?????) it looks like our boys in red are back to their old ways, now that the election is over.