For those hoping that a new congress and a second-term president would bring new efforts to bridge differences between them, January has been disappointing. The president’s inaugural address all but ignored the two most pressing issues important to Republicans: federal spending that is resulting in huge debt, and the subpar growth of the economy.

Instead, the president’s focus seems to be on more government regulations, spending, and taxes. This was reinforced by the Senate’s new Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Washington), an unabashed liberal. Last week she told fellow Democrats that her first budget would call for more tax revenue by “making sure the rich don’t benefit disproportionately from deductions and other tax preferences.” This is code language for saying that she wants another round of tax increases on the wealthy.