Why are Republicans winning the budget debate?

Recent polling shows that Americans think we have a spending problem, not a taxing problem, and that Republicans are the party they trust to deal with that problem. A USA Today/Gallup poll released this week shows that Americans trust Republicans over Democrats on the deficit issue by a whopping 12-point margin (48 to 36 percent). That margin is made possible in large part because independents trust Republicans over Democrats by a margin of 17 points (47 to 30 percent).