I Hope There's No Devil In The Details

This from the Wall Street Journal is right:

A Tea Party Triumph

If a good political compromise is one that has something for everyone to hate, then last night's bipartisan debt-ceiling deal is a triumph. The bargain is nonetheless better than what seemed achievable in recent days ...

The big picture is that the deal is a victory for the cause of smaller government, arguably the biggest since welfare reform in 1996. Most bipartisan budget deals trade tax increases that are immediate for spending cuts that turn out to be fictional. This one includes no immediate tax increases, despite President Obama's demand as recently as last Monday. The immediate spending cuts are real, if smaller than we'd prefer, and the longer-term cuts could be real if Republicans hold Congress and continue to enforce the deal's spending caps.

The framework (we haven't seen all the details) calls for an initial step of some $900 billion in domestic discretionary cuts over 10 years from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline puffed up by recent spending. If the cuts hold, this would go some way to erasing the fiscal damage from the Obama-Nancy Pelosi stimulus. This is no small achievement considering that Republicans control neither the Senate nor the White House, and it underscores how much the GOP victory in November has reshaped the U.S. fiscal debate.

No wonder liberals are howling. [link]

I'm not jumping for joy either.

It appears the "spending cuts" are those Washington is famous for.  In other words, they're cuts that will take place in a land far, far away in a time many, many years from now.  In other words, they're make-believe.

Just as bad, the Journal goes on to talk about a committee being formed made up of an equal number of congresspersons from both parties that will "recommend another round of deficit reduction of between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion, also over 10 years."  Like that'll ever happen.

Still, all in all, this debate ended about where I thought it would, considering the fact that Obama and his ilk still run things for a few more months.  We've laid down a marker.  We've told the other side that there's going to be no more manna spilling down from heaven.  The end is drawing nigh.

And Nancy Pelosi has been so frightened by us that she's reverted to wearing Depends.

So, all in all, we win.

For those of you who don't think so, look at it this way: Remember the night that the Berlin Wall fell?  It wasn't one sledgehammer stroke that brought it down.  It was thousands.  Administered by thousands of freedom-loving human beings.  The Berlin Wall here is coming down.  The first hammer stroke - the first of many - has fallen.

It may be only one blow, but it's one - because of what it represents - that we can celebrate.

Now, let's talk about ObamaCare.

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I must be on the right side of this news.  The New York Times this morning weighs in with its own reaction: To Escape Chaos, a Terrible Deal.  It must be a better deal than I thought.