I agree. Republicans keep selling us a bill of goods. Never make the spending cuts needed and only talk taxes. Get rid of most of the deductions and special rates for certain types of income and you might be able to lower taxes. This is on both individuals and business. Go budget item by budget item and see if it should even exist. Each has their own up or down vote. No bundling with things needed. Make serious effort to deal with both entitlement spending and defense spending. Get rid of the many duplicate progams and agencies. Make a serious effort at reforming. No sacred cows allowed. None of this will happen though.
Even more basic is the conversation of what works and what is failing. Our bridges and highways are a disaster as is our education system. The federal government is outstanding and bringing HUGE power to bear on HUGE problems like WWII, Creation of the interstate highway system, racial equality, but using the federal government to fill pot holes is like using a sledge hammer to kill a gnat. The states are better equipped to handle issues that require more focus and we can eliminate all that useless overhead and legislative manipulation.