A brave coalition of centrist senators defiantly took the stage today to save America, by asking for larger, more painful budget cuts to lower- and middle-class social programs in a horrible time of economic agony and uncertainty. Thirty-six of them, there were! Can you just feel the red, white and blue coursing through your veins?

Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., has assembled a group comprising 36 members of the Senate to pressure the so-called deficit reduction "super committee" to seek deficit reductions beyond the minimum called for in last month's debt deal.

The group of 18 Republicans, 17 Democrats and one independent – more than a third of the Senate — is urging the committee to seek $4 trillion in deficit reductions, including previously enacted measures.

Among those 36 was, of course, Joe Lieberman, who perfectly sensed the history of the moment. This wasn't just your average, useless Thursday-morning press conference from a bunch of weiners. It was perhaps the spark of a revolution, much like those that have taken place in Northern Africa this year. "Maybe," Lieberman tweeted, "we 36 began a 'Washington Spring' today."

Now I'm not sure, but I don't think that Arab Spring-style revolutions were sparked by a few dozen oligarchs in the House of Lords going out of their way to suggest ever-larger cuts to popular entitlement programs. But maybe Joe Lieberman thinks he's found the newest model for 21st-century revolution here! So which senator will be the first to self-immolate on the steps of the Capitol, or take a bullet from riot police? They'd better draw straws or something to figure that out, and soon, because most will want to fly home tonight for their weekly long weekend.

[Image via AP]