Republicans - Dying for Slash?

Politico's David Rodgers reports that the GOP is hoping for a return to George W. Bush's 2008 budget. The cuts to appropriations alone would be "nearly $100 billion less than Obama’s 2011 request and $84 billion, or 18 percent, below current levels."

Congress will vote on a new budget in March, and the new GOP majority has pledged to slash spending. They've already made it harder for certain spending increases to go through. What are they likely to go after?

• The State Department
• EPA
• Small Business Administration
• Indian Health Service
• Pell Grants for low-income college students could drop 24 percent
• Federal support for training new nurses

Bush's 2008 budget didn't include Pentagon spending and mostly excluded the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs. The GOP could be under pressure to go after even sacrosanct military spending. Eric Cantor, the House majority whip, vowed last week to keep defense cuts "on the table." And on Thursday, the center-left New America Foundation released a poll showing that 67 percent of conservatives and tea-party supporters were worried about the cost of the war in Afghanistan.

Is the Republican Party willing—or able—to deliver on its budget-slashing promises? The House GOP has scaled back its promise to cut $100 billion in spending in the first year, and individual members have conspicuously avoided describing any specific cuts they'd make. Any budget would also have to make its way pass the Democrat-controlled Senate and a presidential veto. For the moment, GOP hopes for a Bush-era budget will remain a pipe dream.