Fiscal Cliff: Prominent Republicans are pushing a bright idea to prevent Democrats' promise of a post-election fiscal crisis: a stopgap funding measure that could also put Mitt Romney back on offense.

Some 20 GOP members of Congress — including John McCain and 10 other senators — are proposing a measure as sensible economically as it is smart politically.

Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Marco Rubio of Florida and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, among others, have joined with congressmen like Jim Jordan of Ohio and Joe Wilson of South Carolina. All back the idea of passing, before August's recess, a six-month continuing resolution in the House of Representatives to fund the government into next year.

As the 20 lawmakers argue in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell: "Then, Senate Republicans can force a vote on the CR, forcing Democrats to explain ... why they are seeking a government shutdown crisis."

These senators and representatives are convinced that "taking the threat of a government shutdown off the table will allow a serious debate about tax and spending policy before the elections."

As important, their stopgap resolution would temporarily prevent the expiration of the Bush tax cuts — the last thing the U.S. economy needs today.

DeMint, Johnson and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., cautioned Wednesday in a Washington Examiner article that "a series of terrible events will occur at or near the year's end if Congress does not act soon" — including indiscriminate defense cuts, expiration of Medicare payments to physicians and another debt-ceiling crisis.

Amid such orchestrated chaos, "Reid will do all he can to divide Republicans" and force them "into accepting a stopgap, temporary, two-month government spending bill," forcing "a lame-duck session in late November or December ..."

"That's when the real mischief can begin," the senators warn, when "under the gloomy cloud of yet another government shutdown, members of Congress who lose in the 2012 elections can freely vote to raise taxes, increase spending, pass international treaties, increase the debt limit and gut national defense."

At Thursday's meeting of Senate Republicans, McConnell was told he is naive to think a deal could be struck with Reid avoiding this calamity — especially since Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chief fundraiser for Senate Democrats, just let it be known she would love to see such a fiscal crisis because it would hurt Republicans.

McConnell, Boehner and the Romney campaign are being urged to embrace this strategy. Romney could use it effectively by demanding that Obama dare to defend congressional Democrats' fiscal mischief.

Indeed it could do even more — by turning the spotlight on how Democrats have managed to spend us into oblivion and wreck the economy at the same time.

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