Matt Lewis at The Daily Caller argues that taking a compromise deal allowed Republicans to avoid blame for the S&P downgrade (although David Axelrod and John Kerry are claiming otherwise) and any other negative consequences:
In the few days since the debt ceiling was raised, the Dow has dropped more than 500 points and Standard & Poor has decided to downgrade the United States’ credit rating. This is very bad news for the nation. But politically, it at least appears that the blame will be shared.But imagine this scenario: What if the GOP freshmen who blocked Boehner’s bill and argued the August 2nd deadline was simply arbitrary had scuttled or delayed a debt deal?It seems very obvious to me that Republicans would have been (wrongly) blamed for the Dow drop and the S&P downgrade — and the many legitimate tea party ideas that might help move the country forward would have been (wrongly) discredited.
This is, somewhat, a point I was making in the days leading up to the deal. A meaningful restructuring was impossible at the time, and it was better not to be the fall guys and gals for what was to come.
The S&P downgrade, while it doesn’t change any reality, is a wake up call and an opportunity which may not have existed had we held out. I don’t claim it’s a perfect scenario by any means, but I think it is fair to argue that it was the right decision even in hindsight.
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