Is this a Democratic setup?

I have been puzzling for days about why the Democrats seem to be in complete denial about the federal deficit and debt. Democratic politicians are smart people.  Even though most are lawyers, they must by now have read and understood some of the hundreds of studies that have detailed the looming fiscal crisis from entitlements and the soaring debt. I can't believe they don't see the handwriting on the wall just as well as the rest of us.  But they have yet to produce even a draft plan or proposal for tackling this problem.

But it has just occurred to me that perhaps there is a shrewd political reason for this.

Any credible plan to reduce the deficit and deal with the entitlement crisis is going to require drastic cuts in services, and is going to be highly unpopular with the public.  The public are all for cutting the deficit, as long as all the cuts are to other people's entitlements and contracts and jobs and none of their own entitlements or contracts or jobs are touched!

Eventually (perhaps as early as the next election) Republicans will be back in the majority and will hold the Presidency.  Why not just kick the can down the road some more and try to be sure the Republicans are in power when the government is finally forced to make the unpopular cuts?  That way the Republicans will get the blame, and even perhaps be forced out of power for an extended period as a result.

This would be lousy, even irresponsible, statesmanship.  But it might be smart politics.

Perhaps I am seeing too much of a conspiracy here. Perhaps I am attributing too much shrewdness and foresight to the Democrats.  But I do wonder..... what other explanation can there be for their apparent total denial of the problem?