Yesterday, RNC chairman Reince Priebus blasted Harry Reid's selection of Patty Murray (D-WA) to lead the Senate Democrat's contingent on the debt reduction Super Panel, calling his choice of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairwoman a "blatantly political move." But for the most part, Republicans seem more than comfortable with Max Baucus joining the new Gang of 12. While that may be because of Baucus' reputation as a moderate, it may also be explained by another distinction. Back in 2001, Max Baucus voted for the first round of the Bush tax cuts now at the center of the debt reduction debate.

Such is the saga of the politically bi-curious Max Baucus, who at the start of his political career in the 1970's asked veteran New Dealer James Rowe, "Do you think I should run as a Republican or a Democrat?" As the stand-off over the extension of the Bush tax cuts reached the boiling point in December 2010, Max Baucus supported President Obama's position that the Treasury-draining windfall for the top 2% of taxpayers needed to come to an end. But 10 years ago, Baucus was among the dozen Senate Democrats who blessed the Bush tax cut package that would become the single largest driver of debt over the past decade and, if made permanent, the next as well.

As the New York Times recalled in June 2001, the fence-straddling Max Baucus jumped to Bush's side to back the giveaway:

Following tradition in signing major legislation, Mr. Bush used a different pen for each letter of his name, then handed the pens to Republican Congressional leaders and a few Democrats whose support was critical.
Among them was Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the new chairman of the Finance Committee, whose decision to reach a compromise between his own party's more modest tax cut and Mr. Bush's more ambitious one angered leaders in his own party, including the new majority leader, Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota. But tonight Mr. Daschle was headed to the White House for a private dinner with Mr. Bush and his wife, Laura, while Mr. Baucus said he did the right thing by striking a deal with Mr. Bush.
''Every day it looks like a better and better decision,'' Mr. Baucus said at the White House after the signing ceremony. ''In many respects, I think politically I helped the party. We Democrats would have been in trouble in 2002 just saying no to every one of the president's proposals.''

As it turned out, not so much. The then-popular wartime President Bush stumped for Republican candidates around the country, helping the GOP gain two seats in the Senate while maintaining its majority in the House. As press secretary Ari Fleischer crowed:

"The president played a very constructive role in making history, historical trends are very hard to break. Not only have we kept the House, but we've gained seats. This is the first time since the Civil War."

Baucus' confusion continued after his party's 2002 midterm disaster. While initially supportive of the second round of Bush tax cuts in 2003, he ultimately balked at the price tag. (Only Zell Miller and Ben Miller betrayed their supposed Democratic colleagues on that colleagues.) Later that year, Baucus voted for the deeply flawed Bush prescription drug plan for Medicare. But in 2005, Max said no to the President's wildly irresponsible scheme to privatize Social Security, announcing that January:

''I seriously doubt I'm going to be the linchpin this time."

If only that was true of his role in the heated health care reform process. As became clear in the fall of 2009, Baucus failed completely in threading the needle, crafting a bill most Democrats hated while predictably failing to garner a single Republican supporter. As he unveiled his package alone that September, Baucus lamented, "No Republican has offered his or her support at this moment."
As the late David Broder rightly (for once) concluded:

"As usual, Baucus is in the middle. But it is a miserable place to be."

And not just for Max Baucus, but for the American people as well. With the U.S. Treasury starved of revenue thanks in large part to the Bush tax cuts which have driven the total federal tax burden as a percentage of GDP to its lowest level since 1950, no serious debt reduction package can exclude tax hikes. On that point, polls show Americans in overwhelming agreement. For Max Baucus, a shot at reducing the national debt also happens to be his chance for personal redemption.