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Opinion: Disgusted by Washington

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Contrary to popular belief, the winners of the debt ceiling debacle were actually President Obama and the Democrats, Daniel Markovits, a professor of law at Yale Law School, wrote in an Op-Ed on Wednesday. For starters, Obama and the Democrats got enough members of the ‘no’ party to say ‘yes’ to a deal that prevented the government from defaulting. Democrats believed default would have sent the U.S. into another recession, or depression, while to Republicans and ‘tea partyers,’ defaulting mattered less than cutting entitlements -- which is exactly what defaulting would do. The GOP should have budged only for a short-term stop-gap rise in the debt ceiling, but the deal many of them signed on to takes away any leverage the party had in the nation’s economic negotiations.

And today’s Republicans have not gotten much for giving up their leverage; certainly nothing close to what they asked for in Cut, Cap and Balance. The current deal cuts social programs rather than raising revenue, to be sure. But while the cuts are significant and will hurt, they leave the basic core of the American social safety net intact. And the bipartisan committee charged with negotiating a grander bargain in the fall is free to revisit the possibility of new taxes. In addition, it will take up the orthodox anti-tax position (represented by the balanced budget amendment) in a manner guaranteed to be purely symbolic.

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Perhaps most important, this week’s debt deal does nothing to change the fact that the George W. Bush tax cuts will expire at the end of 2012. Obama and congressional Democrats will be able to bargain for increased taxes on the wealthy, in a situation in which they have much less to lose.

The radicals in the Republican Party dragged the country to the edge of a cliff, but they failed to push us off; and they were even forced, at the last moment, to pull back.

Despite the passage of a debt deal, readers on the discussion board are disgusted by Washington and are looking forward to the next election for a solution.

It’s time to take the credit cards away from Washington

Another great ‘spin’ opinion piece from the Progressive Times editorial staff.

The Republicans did not lose. The citizens lost. Another $12 trillion added to the current $15 trillion of debt over the next ten years. That will be a minimum of $25 trillion of debt in the year 2021.

What total dolts our politicians are. Would any of us who may be in debt leave twice our own debt to our children and grandchildren? I think not.

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Time to take away Washington’s (and Sacramento’s) credit cards. Time for balanced annual budgets and an actual plan to begin to pay down the total national debt. Neither party has a plan to do that. It is time for voters to find candidates for 2012 who will actually end annual deficit spending and who have a sound plan to pay down the debt.

There is not free lunch. There is no ‘free chicken in every pot.’ Time to get a fiscal grip.

--tommythek50

We need to vote for adults in the next election

This is not a win or lose situation. All of these guys/gals were elected to do the job of making these types of decisions, not to line their pockets or sit in Washington acting like little school children fighting over a toy. This a matter voters need to think about when reelection comes up for these spoiled brats and send them home. We the American people need to vote adults in to these offices. I am embarrassed that this is a repeated performance on the world stage of the maturity of the USA while young men and women are giving up their lives, health and family to fight wars. Send our soldiers home and put these boobs in uniforms and let’s see face how long it takes them to grow up. Put them on the streets, homeless and without any opportunities for their futures. Put them on food stamps and a fix income with a foot long of medical expenses.

Send them packing at reelection time

--lumbee54

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Obama switched hostages with the GOP: the elderly, the sick and the poor for defense and health care

This is a brilliant and accurate analysis. Period. Of all the editorials and opinion pieces I have read since the debt deal has been inked, this one stands out...by far. Obama, for starters, was dealing with a house republican cohort that was perfectly willing and comfortable to push US into default if they don’t get 100% of what they demand. It was a hostage crisis--the hostages being the elderly, the sick and the poor. What Obama did was trade these hostages for new ones--defense industry and the health care providers. That was the best you could have done given the situation.

Liberals who are disappointed with Obama should blame themselves for staying home in Nov 2010 while tea party republicans came out in droves to vote. You get what you vote for (not voting at all is the same as voting for the opposing team, it’s true). Many liberals are now talking about a left wing primary challenge to Obama for 2012 or third party alternative which is déjà vu 2000 Gore Vs Bush, when Nader helped elect Bush W. Once again proving to us how lame progressives are when it comes to how elections affect their agenda.

--d’afrique

So the Democrats were the ones holding the hostage?

So what you’re saying is that it was the Democrats that were holding the debt as hostage for their re-election, and all the while you complained about the Republicans. Democrats are worthless.

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--Anonymous.

We can’t pay for everything for everyone

The only thing progressive about the Democrat’s plan were taxes and more social spending. We have to realize we can’t afford to be everything for everyone before we end up like Greece. If that’s radical, it’s far better than the alternatives.

--TimBowman

There’s too much talk about political parties; this is about the people

When will the media stop pitching this as a contest between Republicans and Democrats and start describing the Debt debate as a crucial for all Americans?

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--Yeson8Won

RELATED:

One clear profile in courage

Debt ceiling: A squandered deal

What the debt ceiling deal didn’t do

Debt ceiling deal: A win for the ‘tea party’? A loss for the American people?

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-- Samantha Schaefer

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