The Democrat Victory Republicans Needed

Now the deal is finally done and the [sic] fiscal cliff is adverted, everyone in the press is saying Republican lost.  Technically this is true. They failed to keep taxes from going up.  They in reality cut taxes from what they were minutes before passing the bill, but not what they were 24 hours before passing the bill.  This is OK  because everyone now knows Democrats won. They will be the ones who have to say they raised taxes on so many Americans.

Already this year is not looking to be that great for the U.S. Economy. 

PIMCO's Bill Gross says "Weak performance for stocks and bonds, higher unemployment and roaring gold prices are in store for investors next year"

And Republicans may have effectively sheilded themselves from any of the blame.  They will say the Democrats forced our hand. 

David Malpass of The Wall Street Journal says "Nothing is Certain Except More Debt and Taxes."  This is the truth, and its what the Democrats fought for.

Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post wrote this:

"Government can no longer fulfill all the promises it has made to various constituencies. Some promises will be reduced or disavowed. Which ones? Why? Only the president can pose these questions in a way that starts a national conversation over the choices to be made, but doing so requires the president to tell people things they don't want to hear. That's his job: to help Americans face unavoidable, if unpleasant, realities. Barack Obama has refused to play this role." 

"Instead, he has cast the long-term budget problem as a question of whether the richest 1 percent or 2 percent of the population should pay more in taxes."

This is all the Presidents doing, and it is something history will judge him for.  

Because in reality, nothing this president has done has got us closer to solving one of the nations biggest problems--the out of control spending.   

Charles Gasparino writes that the deal "does nothing about what the nation really needs — meaningful legislation to address the core problems of slow economic growth, out-of-control entitlement spending and runaway debt."

This is the victory the Press and the Democrats are touting.  

I believe if Republicans can fix their image, stop fighting culture wars they are destined to lose, they will be able to effectively pin this on the Democrats, who while they were winning chose to do nothing.  They already are in position to stop paying attention to some pledge, these things are anti-realistic governing measures.

They will and should use the debt ceiling as another tool, because its about the only one they have. Since they made a deal on this one, the next fight will be easier.