Since the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) agency lopped one “A” off the U.S.’s AAA credit for the first time, Republican politicians and pundits have been quick to blast the White House for the downgrade. Labeling it “Obama’s downgrade,” GOP lawmakers like Rep. Michele Bachmann (MN) blamed Obama’s “failed economic policies” as the root cause. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) insisted that he “warned the President that his plan didn’t cut spending enough but he didn’t listen.” House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) even viewed the downgrade as “a vindication of [the GOP's] actions.”

S&P, however, takes the exact opposite view. In fact, the credit agency cited almost every stance the GOP took during the debt ceiling debacle as a reason for the downgrade.

– Tax Increases: During debt negotiations, Republicans obstinately refused to even consider tax increases as part of the deal. On the day S&P announced the downgrade, the agency repeatedly slammed “the majority of Republicans in Congress” for continuing “to resist any measure that would raise revenues,” which, it complained, seems to be a priority that has “dropped down on the menu of policy options.” Contrary to GOP delusion, S&P indicated that it would improve the U.S.’s credit rating if “the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for high earners lapse from 2013 onwards, as the Administration is advocating.”

– Balanced Budget Amendment: Though considered one of “the worst ideas in Washington,” Republicans are continuing their efforts to pass a balanced budget constitutional amendment (BBA) and even suggested that the downgrade would not have happened, or would be reversed, if a BBA were passed. S&P head John Chambers, however, publicly denounced the idea and indicated that a BBA would hurt, not help, the U.S’s creditworthiness. “We think that fiscal rules like these just diminish the flexibility of the government to respond,” he said, adding that S&P would question a BBA’s “credibility.”

– Default Denial: Despite a deluge of warnings from numerous economists and experts, several Republican “default deniers” simply did not believe that failing to raise the debt ceiling would result in negative economic consequences. “The case has not been made that this is an absolute necessity,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI). “I don’t think it’s going to have an adverse on the economy” or “be disruptive to the economy per se,” said now-supercommittee member Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA). Yesterday, S&P senior director Joydeep Mukherji noted that this level of skepticism about “the serious consequences of a credit default” was yet another reason for the downgrade. “That a country even has such voices, albeit a minority, is something notable,” he said. “This kind of rhetoric is not common amongst AAA sovereigns.”

That the downgrade is a result of this Tea Party trifecta has forced many Republicans to do what they do often: ignore the facts. Responding to S&P’s default denial charge, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) insisted that “no one said [default] would be acceptable.” And, as is her fashion, Bachmann completely disregarded the facts last night in the Iowa GOP debate. “Standard & Poor’s essentially proved me right,” she said.

Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the United States’ credit rating Friday night came with clear shots at congressional Republicans who had refused to consider tax increases in the deal to raise the debt ceiling. S&P criticized Congress for allowing new revenues to drop from the “menu of policy options,” criticizing “the majority of Republicans in Congress [who] continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues.” The National Journal proclaimed it “hard to read the S&P analysis as anything other than a blast at Republicans.”

Unlike his party’s presidential candidates and several of his congressional colleagues, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) seems to have heard that blast, as he sent a memo to congressional Republicans today acknowledging S&P’s calls for tax increases. Despite hearing those calls, however, Cantor is urging his colleagues to ignore them:

Over the next several months, there will be tremendous pressure on Congress to prove that S&P’s analysis of the inability of the political parties to bridge our differences is wrong. In short, there will be pressure to compromise on tax increases. We will be told that there is no other way forward. I respectfully disagree.

As we have said from the beginning of the year, the new Republican Majority was elected to change the way Washington does business. We were not elected to raise taxes or take more money out of the pockets of hard working families and business people. People understand Washington can’t keep spending money that it doesn’t have. They want to see less government – not more taxes.

Not only has Cantor chosen to ignore S&P, he has his facts wrong about the American people. Polling conducted by the New York Times and CBS News found last week that half of Americans did, in fact, support the inclusion of new revenues in the debt deal, and numerous polls have shown wide support for ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, a proposal that would reduce the federal deficit by $830 billion over the next decade. S&P today called the full expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which would save $4 trillion in the next decade, one of the major steps in restoring the nation’s AAA credit rating.

Given that S&P downgraded the U.S. in part because of political instability brought on by the GOP taking the economy hostage, Cantor urging his colleagues to ignore the agency’s warning likely won’t help the government’s attempts to avoid yet another downgrade in the future.

Tea Party Rep. Allen West (R-FL) blamed Standard & Poor’s downgrade of U.S. debt squarely on Democrats, saying this morning on Fox and Friends that “they are the ones that are totally to blame.” West added that the downgrade “has nothing to do with increasing revenues by tax hikes,” saying only spending mattered. Watch it:

This is likely news to S&P, as they said revenues had everything to do with their decision. If West had bothered to read and accurately present the rating agency’s explanation for its move, he would see they repeatedly expressed concern about the lack of revenues in the debt ceiling deal and Republicans’ stated refusal to raise revenues in the future. For example:

We have changed our assumption on this because the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues, a position we believe Congress reinforced by passing the act.

West went on to feign some outrage against Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), calling his comments labeling S&P’s move the “Tea Party downgrade” as “the most insidious thing I’ve ever heard.” West has apparently led a very pleasant life if that’s the most insidious thing he’s ever heard — though his dishonesty might be worse.