The Parties' Flip-Flops on Deficit Spending: Economics or Politics?

Not long ago, Republicans were trying to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. Democrats were skeptical, overwhelmingly Keynesian, and believed that deficit spending had ended the Great Depression. Under Rubinomics the positions began to switch: Democrats became the defenders of fiscal orthodoxy. Now Bush has cut taxes for the rich and caused huge deficits. Is the flip-flop just politics