It isn't precisely the same, of course, but it's all been very reminiscent of the Iraq war era. All The Serious People, including a bunch of stupid know-nothings like Joe Scarborough, agree that the deficit will kill us all, and all the sillies and the nerds disagree. If the Serious People actually implement their supposed desired policies, the consequences will be catastrophic. For other people.
Of course when those same serious people were facing a genuine (if catastrophic) deficit reduction plan, they dubbed it the fiscal cliff and decided it would kill us all.
