The Wall Street Journal editorial board today asserts that President Obama's deficit commission is a “trap” designed to provide “political cover” for tax increases and the permanent expansion of the federal government. To support this claim, the Journal says “Obama has rigged the commission” -- which the editorial describes as “allegedly bipartisan” -- “so Republicans will be outnumbered by at least 10-8.”

In fact, by design, the commission's recommendations must have bipartisan support. And contrary to the Journal's claim that Obama ensured “Republicans will be outnumbered by at least 10-8,” Obama actually specified that Democrats will outnumber Republicans by no more than 10-8 [emphasis added]. According to the executive order creating the commission, both Congressional Democrats and Congressional Republicans will select 6 members. Obama chooses the remaining 6 members of the 18-member panel, “not more than four of whom shall be from the same political party.” (Obama has already made his picks, including former Republican senator Alan Simpson, who will serve as co-chair, and Republican David Cote, CEO of Honeywell.)

The order further dictates that the commission's recommendations “shall require the approval of not less than 14 of the 18 members of the Commission.” So to review, the commission will have 10 Democrats and will need 14 votes to issue their recommendations. So even if both the Republicans Obama appointed to the commission vote with the Democrats, that still means at least two of the members chosen by Mitch McConnell or John Boehner will have to be on board. Clearly this is a “trap” that Obama “rigged.”

But lest you see through that poor attempt to discredit the commission's bipartisanship, the Journal continues: "[H]e's also rigged it a second way by writing his executive order to say that Congressional leaders can only choose current Members of Congress. The White House knows that some GOP Members will be reluctant to endorse spending cuts as part of the commission for fear of opening themselves to Democratic attack."

The Journal thinks Congressional Republicans on the commission will fear the political fallout of recommending spending cuts. At the same time, it claims that the commission is going to “propose ways to raise huge new chunks of revenue beyond the current tax code.” So do the Journal editorial writers really think Republicans on the commission will prefer the political implications of recommending tax increases to those of spending cuts? Or have they just disregarded common sense in a rush to oppose the president and turn a deficit-reduction commission into a radical left-wing conspiracy?