IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER

Note: This blog was written August 1st.

All the newspapers and cable news channels are voicing a wide range of opinions relative to the passage of the debt reduction compromise. While there appears to have been a resolution that permits all the parties to find some level of acceptability within their caucus I believe the ultimate resolution has once again been kicked down the road.

Only the passage of time will indicate whether the rating institutions such as Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s downgrade our country’s credit rating. In view of the problems that occurred with the housing market collapse, I believe they will lower our rating because they want to avoid another public relations disaster for themselves and nothing has really happened to improve our credit worthy status to date.

My read on the current situation is that all parties have been harmed as a result of the delay until the last possible minute in reaching a compromise resolution. The President lost, the Democrats lost, and the Republicans lost. While many talking heads in the liberal mainstream media blame the Tea Party for the delayed compromise resolution, it is only the Tea Party that actually got much of what they wanted all along. The Tea Party members are a significant political force, and they will be a substantial influence in the next election because the total electorate has been aroused and the Tea Party represents concepts that a growing number of Americans support, despite what the Democrat talking-heads say.

The success of this resolution will be based upon the action of a political commission six months down the road, and the achievements of past political commissions have been bleak or non-existent from a historical perspective. Thus, only time will tell if the resolution really reduces the size of government and gross over-spending.

President Obama must be very unhappy with his precious New York Times editorial and opinion pieces which take him to task for caving into the opposition. Both articles ("The Diminished President" and "To Escape Chaos, A Terrible Deal) will cause him several sleepless nights and the support of many Progressive Democrats and Independent voters.

One positive out of this recent demonstration of American politics at its worst is that we have a growing group of politicians in Washington that currently do not care if they are re-elected or not. They will not alter their hard-line positions. They are the new Tea Party members in the House and Senate and they are a force that has to be reckoned with in the future.

Your Commander does expect at least a couple of challenges to the Constitutionality of the compromise agreement from some members of Congress. Apparently, not knowing the exact details of the deal, there are at least two or three issues that will draw and justify investigation.

As the political pundits have reported, the Republicans and the Tea Party prevailed, and the Democrats and the President came out on the short end of the deal. Considering the clear fact that the Republicans only control 1/3rd of the government, they actually did quite well on this compromise. Now the real hard work begins and it is up to the twelve person commission to deliver some acceptable legislation that will meet with the approval of the electorate and both Houses of Congress. That may be an unrealistic mission impossible considering the tensions within Congress, but don’t count out the demands of the people to solve our fiscal disorder.

Your Commander has a long record of critical commentary, but it is my intension within the next few days or weeks to write an extensive White Paper outlining my recommendations to correct our national financial nightmare. I do not have all the answers, but I do know right from wrong.

While I personally doubt my recent emails to my Washington representatives were responsible for reaching this compromise, it certainly did not hurt, and I now know that Washington was flooded with the concerns and demands for compromise and resolution made by many fellow Americans. The size of the affirmative vote in both the House and Senate prove the electorate is aroused, and Congress heard our concerns. We do have a voice when we forcefully exercise our precious rights.

COMMANDER GRANGER