As the potential defaulting on our national debt looms ever larger and comes ever closer, there is a rising chorus of responsible conservatives who are speaking up so as to drown out the radicals on the far right who think that default is not a serious problem. For one thing, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has reiterated its opposition to default in a recent piece, “Default Is Not An Option – Spread the Word” The USCC has stated unequivocally: “failure to raise the debt ceiling would have calamitous results. It would halt government operations, make our debt and deficit situation worse, debase the value of the dollar and threaten its status as the world’s reserve currency, and hamper U.S. growth and job creation.” Based on the fact that debt, deficit, growth and job creation are all topics in the forefront of the conservative agenda, it doesn’t seem to make much sense to allow the federal government to default if the conservative agenda would be setback as a result. Responsible conservatives know this and now they are taking their argument to the public so as to forestall any calamity that would result from the recklessness of the far right.
A second development that is worth noting is that the “Gang of Six”, those senators who have been working with the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction committee proposals has gained another member, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and its proceedings appear to have garnered increased interest on Capitol Hill. Quoting Senator Kent Conrad: “Any debt deal would resemble the “Gang of Six” plan.” The “Gang of Six” proposals are a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases and they stand in sharp contrast to the ultra conservative Cut, Cap and Balance bill that’s going nowhere on Capitol Hill. While Tea Party backed Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) said of Cut, Cap and Balance: “And we want to make very clear, this isn’t just the best plan on the table for addressing the debt limit; this is the only plan”; Speaker of the House, John Boehner, acted immediately to put Lee’s comments into perspective. Boehner said: “Oh, I’m sure we have got some members who believe that, but I do not believe that would be anywhere close to the majority. At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to act.” With these comments, Boehner is signaling a more reasonable approach to addressing the dual problems of deficits and revenues. Boehner is also very much aware of the fact that while there may be a sizable default caucus among the Tea Party crowd in the House, there is a very small claque of Senators on the far right who are beholden to the same views. Based on the fact that Jack Lew, the head of the Office of Management and Budget testified at the bipartisan debt reduction caucus today and reiterated the fact that whatever the final plan is, it would have to include some form of revenue increase, is it any wonder that John Boehner is charting a more practical course?
A second development that is worth noting is that the “Gang of Six”, those senators who have been working with the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction committee proposals has gained another member, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and its proceedings appear to have garnered increased interest on Capitol Hill. Quoting Senator Kent Conrad: “Any debt deal would resemble the “Gang of Six” plan.” The “Gang of Six” proposals are a combination of spending cuts and revenue increases and they stand in sharp contrast to the ultra conservative Cut, Cap and Balance bill that’s going nowhere on Capitol Hill. While Tea Party backed Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) said of Cut, Cap and Balance: “And we want to make very clear, this isn’t just the best plan on the table for addressing the debt limit; this is the only plan”; Speaker of the House, John Boehner, acted immediately to put Lee’s comments into perspective. Boehner said: “Oh, I’m sure we have got some members who believe that, but I do not believe that would be anywhere close to the majority. At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to act.” With these comments, Boehner is signaling a more reasonable approach to addressing the dual problems of deficits and revenues. Boehner is also very much aware of the fact that while there may be a sizable default caucus among the Tea Party crowd in the House, there is a very small claque of Senators on the far right who are beholden to the same views. Based on the fact that Jack Lew, the head of the Office of Management and Budget testified at the bipartisan debt reduction caucus today and reiterated the fact that whatever the final plan is, it would have to include some form of revenue increase, is it any wonder that John Boehner is charting a more practical course?
Why reality is even starting to dawn on anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist. Norquist has begun to equivocate on whether or not allowing the Bush era tax breaks to expire amounts to a tax hike. Norquist’s equivocation is an element of particular irony as it is Norquist who developed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” which disavows any increase in federal revenue from increased taxes or the elimination of tax breaks and the closing of loopholes. Norquist’s about face on Bush era tax cuts is a major setback for the “starve the beast crowd” on the far right and represents a major departure from his previous no compromise approach to taxes and spending. That’s something that won’t go unnoticed in the political world and something that is a defacto admission of the need to raise revenues in order to address the deficit.
Thus in the final analysis, as we grind on towards August and the potential of a default, the voices of common sense are growing ever louder and more persuasive and the anti revenue zealots are seeing their chances of dealing with the deficit through drastic cuts alone slip away with each passing hour and each passing day. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) likened the far right radicals in the House to being on an “iceberg that is melting into the ocean” and in need of a life line so as to save themselves from political irrelevance. In the end, those who thought they could come to Washington and refuse to compromise will find themselves on the wrong side of history with their political futures all the more uncertain going forward.
SJG
7/22/11
Sources:
Default Is Not An Option – Spread the Word
http://www.chamberpost.com/2011/07/default-is-not-an-option-%e2%80%93-spread-the-word/
4 ways a debt default would hurt America
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-07-13-debt-limit-default-effects_n.htm
Conrad: Any Debt Deal Would Resemble ‘Gang of 6’ Plan
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec11/debt_07-21.html
Default Is Not An Option – Spread the Word
http://www.chamberpost.com/2011/07/default-is-not-an-option-%e2%80%93-spread-the-word/
4 ways a debt default would hurt America
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-07-13-debt-limit-default-effects_n.htm
Conrad: Any Debt Deal Would Resemble ‘Gang of 6’ Plan
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec11/debt_07-21.html
Grover Norquist: Ending Bush Tax Cuts Not A Tax Hike
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