Well, there we went again. Another manufactured Washington crisis has ended not with a bang but a whimper.
While it’s laudable that both parties could at least come to their senses and avert what would have been a catastrophic default, it’s questionable whether the deal they struck was worth the near-calamity. Far from putting all aspects of the federal budget on the table in these negotiations, neither side was really willing to make any substantive concessions. From the beginning it was clear that Democrats wouldn’t consider any kind of sweeping cuts to social spending, nor would they entertain broad reforms to federal entitlement programs.
For their part, Republicans were similarly strident in taking defense spending and any tax increases off the table. Given those limitations, rather than considering a spending smorgasbord when they walked into the negotiating room, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were more in the appetite for a light snack. That meant that these discussions were never going to result in even the substantive spending cuts that we had in 2011, let alone the kind of grand compromise briefly contemplated at the time. Instead, Washington, D.C., again simply punted, ensuring that it wouldn’t have another self-imposed crisis before the next election. While we may all be grateful that a deal was reached at all, there’s certainly no reason to be applauding the particulars. Rather than truly addressing the nation’s fiscal woes, both sides were more than happy to walk away with what can only be described as a symbolic victory.
That’s not leadership, it’s cowardice, and America deserves better than that. Absent sweeping political changes, however, we’re not likely to get it any time soon.
In part that’s because both parties are in a particularly precarious political position at the moment.
Biden faces challenges at home and abroad, many of them created by his own blunders, resulting in a middling approval rating in the low- to mid- 40s. Those numbers don’t mean that he’s doomed to lose reelection: In our current hyperpartisan atmosphere, as long as he’s the Democratic nominee he’ll have a chance.
It does mean, though, that he’s going to remain inherently risk-averse for the remainder of his first term. That’s saying something, considering Joe Biden hasn’t exactly built a career out of bold, principled leadership – instead, he’s historically been more than happy to go whichever way the political winds are blowing at any particular moment. (It’s easy to forget, but his first presidential campaign in 1988 was even derailed by accusations of plagiarism.) That’s in stark contrast to his old boss, former President Barack Obama, who first got national attention thanks to his early opposition to the Iraq War, flying in the face of the Washington consensus.
McCarthy, similarly, hasn’t ever made a name for himself by sticking his neck out on … well, anything – much less politically risky policies. In recent years, that’s meant he’s been more than willing to kowtow to former President Donald Trump, rapidly retreating when he’s made the mistake of been even slightly critical. Whether one likes or dislikes Trump, it’s hard to be impressed by McCarthy’s waffling; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been more consistently willing to criticize Trump and draw his ire, leading Trump to encourage Republicans to oust him. McCarthy, meanwhile, was willing to do anything to secure his present position, and he remains on a very short leash to keep that job.
This meant that the two men at the center of these negotiations were primarily focused not on doing what was best for the country as a whole, but rather in securing their own immediate political future. Thus, while both initially staked out extreme positions, both were more than willing to settle for a deal that doesn’t really accomplish much of anything other than avoiding default. While it would be foolish for either Democrats or Republicans to revolt and sink the deal for that reason, there’s no reason for much of a celebration, either. Instead we should all accept the agreement with a sigh of relief and move on.
Neither Biden nor McCarthy deserves much credit for a modest deal that does more to further their own careers than address the nation’s fiscal woes. Instead, we should try to replace both men with true leaders who will take our nation’s financial issues seriously, rather than simply yet again passing the buck to the next generation. This nation needs real, bold visionaries in office, not politicians whose main goal is saving their own skin.
Jim Fossel, a conservative activist from Gardiner, worked for Sen. Susan Collins. He can be contacted at:
jwfossel@gmail.com
Twitter: @jimfossel
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