A budget lives! Well, sort of, but it will live! It was passed by the cantankerous old House, which means it's a near certainty to get through the much more docile - if still overly silly - Senate.
Something as mundane as a budget, which used to be an annual certainty, took us three years, a shutdown, and a near default, but we got one.
So for all the agony, unnecessarily self-inflicted pain, and trying political battles what did we get? A pretty modest compromise. The deal isn't good, but neither is it bad. It just is. For all the fighting we ended with what Democrats and Republicans could have gotten years back if they'd have just agreed to meet each other half way.
The real accomplishment here isn't what is in the budget, it is the budget itself. That this is true reflects a sad reality, but it's still true. The House and Senate agreed on a budget, the House passed it, the Senate awaits. A Christmas miracle!
What I'm most hopeful this means is a step in the direction of sanity in Washington. Despite the shenanigans in the Senate, it does seem we will have a budget. Has the cloud of extreme partisanship lifted? Has the Republican party broken up with the tea party? Does anyone think Congress might pass some legislation proactively? What are the odds of that happening?
While I feel encouraged by this moment of compromise - and the negotiations leading up to it - I'm longing for meaningful legislation and not just 50/50 split budget compromises that don't really address any of the financial or economic issues we face. Let's view this as a springboard for something bigger and better. There is reason to be excited by this budget deal, but only if we use the momentum to do something more substantial.
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