BAs Smith County judge, Nathaniel Moran came across as a moderate Republican to assure voters that the county’s business would operate on an even keel.

Now that Moran won election to Congress, I’m having serious doubts that he’ll keep that moderate label. Is he on the verge of joining the ultra-right Freedom Caucus with nutcakes like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz?

He took a big step in that direction when he was one of 117 representatives who voted against the compromise debt extension bill in early June. While the measure passed handily in both the House and Senate, did Moran consider the consequences had the bill failed?

Economists were sounding the alarm that a default on the U.S. debt would send the country into a deep recession. Interest rates would soar along with unemployment. All the economic progress made since the 2020-22 pandemic would evaporate just as the gross national product was on the rise.

Again, what are those naysayers in Congress thinking when they cast no votes?

In Moran’s case, he probably was trying to bolster his conservative credentials by bucking House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who brokered the deal with President Joe Biden. I don’t want to give credit to Moran for making a Machiavellian play, but we didn’t send him to Congress to be a bomb thrower.

The complaint most offered by the naysayers is that the government spends too much.

I heard this argument nearly 60 years ago when Senate GOP leader Everett Dirksen was quoted as saying, “A billion here and a billion there and now you’re talking about serious money.” To update that quote, just change the billion to trillion.

Even 40 years ago, Ronald Reagan cut taxes and went on a big defense spending spree. The result? The national debt tripled from $1 1trillion to $3 trillion. And Republicans were complicit in the biggest percentage increase in the nation’s history.

In recent years, the debt ballooned during the Great Recession in 2007-08 from the mortgage crisis. President George W. Bush followed the sage advise of his economic team to send stimulus checks to help keep the country from going into a depression.

The government actually shut down a decade ago thanks to the idiotic tantrum of Ted Cruz to not extend the national debt limit. That move cost the economy billions and happened while Barack Obama was president. During Donald Trump’s term in office, Congress extended the debt ceiling three times with hardly a peep from Democrats who recognized the potential damage if the limit wasn’t extended.

I hope all those business people who contribute mega-bucks to Republicans remember which party is the most fiscally responsible. In fact, the last time the national budget was balanced happened when Bill Clinton was president and left a $236 billion surplus at the end of his last term.

The government debt limit also increased during the COVID pandemic, but this year is the first time the debt extension came up under Biden. With a razor thin margin in the House, Republicans decided to hold the nation hostage until they got Biden to cave to their demands.

In truth, Republicans got the better part of the deal — a freeze on government spending at current year levels and cancellation of the student debt repayment pause. The deal even cut food stamps to needy Americans so Moran and his GOP colleagues can beat their chests in exultation.

Tax increases on the wealthy to help balance the budget? Not a chance. The deal even cut $20 billion allocated to the Internal Revenue Service to keep the IRS from auditing tax cheats.

But left virtually unscathed is the Defense Department budget. However, many Republicans are calling for increases — just so they can pay grossly inflated prices for vital parts supplied by military contractors. For a better idea of the taxpayer ripoff, look at the “60 Minutes” recent episode on that subject.