As details of the federal debt ceiling compromise began to emerge over the last couple of days, two realities clearly became obvious. The first is that even if yesterday had been allowed to come and go without an official "deal" on the table in regards to raising the federal debt ceiling with some spending controls in place, immediate catastrophe would not have been the result, despite what many-especially on the Left-were saying. The second reality that has come into focus in recent hours and days, however, is that a big part of the reason that those of us who might have been inclined to see our Representatives hold out for a better arrangement weren't likely to get a much better deal no matter how long we held up the axes of Washington is that Republicans (the party most inclined to cut spending) only control one House of the Congress and lack the White House.
It has been the Republican freshmen-such as Tennessee's 4th District newbie Scott DesJarlais-in both the House of Representatives and the Senate who have held the line on spending, and what good might come from the latest "agreement" for an increase in the national debt ceiling is largely due to their efforts. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) told The Washington Times that many old-guard conservatives and Republicans who were more than ready to vote for the debt limit increase admit that the "new guard" Republicans are reminding them of what their roots are ideologically, or as he said it is "helping [the establishment figures on the Hill] rediscover their Republican roots."
Two of Tennessee's Republican freshmen-the above-mentioned DesJarlais, and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann of Chattanooga, voted "NO" on the debt ceiling increase on Monday (NOTE: Despite the bill caption on the House roll in regards to the Education Sciences Reform Act, this was the debt ceiling vote in the House-S. 365). Neither man would have been in much political danger if they had voted in favor, so one has to believe that they voted against raising the debt ceiling because they each believed that voting against a debt ceiling was the right thing to do. What a novel idea for modern politics...
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