It's still not nearly enough but it is a very significant start. The GOP has unveiled a new budget bill after pressure from tea party freshmen that includes more than $100 billion in cuts to the federal budget.

The Hill:

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) on Friday evening introduced a revised 2011 government spending bill that the GOP said will cut at least $100 billion in spending this fiscal year, bowing to demands by Tea Party-backed House freshmen.

The continuing resolution funding the government after March 4 cuts deeply across all areas of domestic spending and singles out many programs for complete elimination.

In the CR $81 billion has been cut from non-security programs, and security-related programs have been reduced by $19 billion, compared to Obama's 2011 budget request.

The legislation will increase funding for the Department of Defense by 2 percent over last year's level.

We are hearing the usual outcry from the usual suspects about how cruel and unjust these cuts are. Silence from those same sources on what they would cut to make any kind of a dent in our $1.5 trillion budget deficit.

It would have been better to start with a higher number and then negotiate downward so that we would have ended up with $100 billion in cuts. Most observers believe that in order to get past the Democratic senate and avoid a presidential veto, far more modest cuts will become reality when all is said and done. If true, the GOP House should vote against any final package, daring the Democratic senate to shut down the government.

In the game of budget chicken, you have to know when the other fellow is going to blink. If the Republicans can shift the onus for a government shut down on the Dems, they may cave and vote for the higher cuts just to keep the government operating.