Final Comments On the Debt Ceiling Debate

Final Comments on the Debt Ceiling Debate
by Tom Ruff
August 2, 2011

I want to make it very clear that if I had been my own member of the House or Senate, I would have absolutely voted for the debt ceiling compromise. I also want to make it very clear that I think it's a bad deal. It makes cuts to vital programs, and doesn't do anything to increase revenues. That being said, I don't envision any scenario in which the president would have gotten any thing better.

There are plenty of reasons to be annoyed at Obama's handling of these negotiations. There are also plenty of reasons to praise his efforts to build a bipartisan consensus. The fact of the matter is, there was no way the Democratic Party was going to get anywhere, and we had a great deal more to lose then the Tea Party. The far left, specifically people like Keith Olbermann, can be as angry as they want to but it doesn't change the reality that the Tea Party really did hold all the cards in this debate. Their very idealogy seems to imply they didn't care if we defaulted, and they were willing to "throw the baby out with the bath water" to get what they wanted.

Here in lies the difference between the governing style of Democrats, and the governing style of the Far Right. The far right is willing to let everything fall apart, rather then actually solve any problems, and Democrats know that the country is far too important to take such a dangerous stand. We had to compromise, we had to let them have their way, and we had to get the debt ceiling raised. The harsh reality is that the GOP will always have the public relations advantage with the American people. When your entire position is "I don't want to take your money, they do." you will always win. When your position is "we need your money to make other people's lives better, but don't worry it will also make your life better" right or wrong you lose people at "we need more money". What people who support the far right don't seem to understand is that the government isn't a business, it doesn't exist for profit, and doesn't exist to live by a bottom line. The whole purpose of government is to provide necessary services for its citizens. The other area on which we differ is on the definition of "necessary services". To those of us on the left, this includes quality education, healthcare, fire and police services, roads and infrastructure, jobs, air and food standards, military protection, unemployment insurance, etc. Those on the right will argue that much of what I just listed is a "want" not a "need" and therefore shouldn't be covered with taxpayer dollars.

The truth is Democrats do as a party do have a lot more to lose because we do know the value and importance of government. This makes it tremendously hard for us to govern. The bigger truth is that until the majority of Americans start to see the value of teamwork, cooperation, and a purpose that is greater than ones self, Obama can promise all the change he wants, but he's never going to be able to deliver, and neither is anyone else. I don't know what it will take for some people to understand that shared sacrifice is essential to recovery... quite possibly a much deeper bottoming out... or quite possibly nothing could ever change the mentality in this country. It may be that the president is thinking to the repeal of the Bush tax cuts as being the second half of this process. It may also be that he decided once again that he couldn't win, he could only lose or tie, and took the best outcome he was dealt.

I'll close in saying this... I don't know for sure what will happen in next November's elections. I don't know if Obama will be reelected or not... and contrary to some opinions nobody else does either, it's still more than a year away. What I do know is this... I will proudly continue to support a president who is willing to keep trying to fight the good fight, but also knows the importance of living to fight another day. The President could have followed through with his threats and bluffs, but that wouldn't have benefited anyone. We as a nation should take a lesson from the president, and focus on our areas of agreement. We should continue to try and support people who want to make the world a better place, even when we it seems like they can't succeed, because unlike games, there are no winners, and we all can lose.