August 02, 2011 10:32 PM UTC

The Debt Ceiling Deal and Liberal Angst

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• by: Colorado Pols

The debt ceiling deal was one of those classic “compromises” where people like to say it’s fair because both sides are unhappy. Whether or not that philosophical bargaining nonsense is true or not, it’s fair to say that both conservatives and liberals are not overly pleased with the deal. But as Time magazine’s Swampland blog (yeah, we hadn’t heard of it before, either) explains, the deal isn’t so bad for liberals:

In a world where the Tea Party didn’t exist, would this be a good bill for Democrats? Absolutely not. But considering that the trigger, commission, two-step process and discretionary budget cuts could’ve been a LOT worse – and actually were in Boehner’s version of the bill – this deal will be easier to swallow. The commission will likely mean a long-term win for Democrats: they’ll get either their revenue increases or achieve significant Pentagon cuts. It could mark a political victory as well: If Pelosi passes this bill on primarily Democratic support, they’ll look like the adults in the room who can compromise and govern, a stark contrast to the Tea Party freshmen. [Pols emphasis]

The “Swampland” piece makes some interesting points about why the deal is good if you are a liberal politico, but it’s last last part that we’ve been discussing here for weeks. The big political picture is that Republicans allowed the process to play out in a manner in which they seemed willing to sacrifice the financial health of the country over partisan ideology. As we’ve always said in this space, voters want their elected officials to lead and make actual decisions, whether they completely agree with them or not.