Of course Republicans don't care about the deficit, but the bigger issue is that the scolds in the media only care about the deficit when they can blame Democrats for it.
Deficit obsession only exists when it serves the Republican agenda. Otherwise, everyone ignores it. Propose spending some money to fix some bridges or to give some food to starving poor people then ZOMG THE DEFICIT. Propose bombing random people or cutting taxes for billionaires.... silence.
