Admirable Victory

After hours of negotiations and rising concerns nationwide, the Congress and President Obama reached an agreement to seal off the threat from a federal shutdown by settling upon a $38.5 billion cut in domestic spending for the coming fiscal year. And even as the media attempted to set him up for a dramatic failure, House Speaker John Boehner successfully outmaneuvered the Democratic ranks to push through a bill with far more cuts than formerly accepted by the opposing party. While the cuts do not yet do enough for budgetary remedies, they are a symbolic triumph of reason over ideology which stand to crush Democratic hopes in the coming days to further crucify the GOP's image.

(Photo credit goes to Liberalland.com)

Now, it must remain clear that the government did not rule a shutdown out entirely; rather they simply extended the deadline with additional cuts. Although this may draw the ire of spectator Tea Party members, it should really be greeted with praise because it shows that once more the GOP can cleverly extort cuts from the Senate and Whitehouse without damaging its image during a shutdown.

Few things can be stressed as more important, seeing as the media and most Democrats would love to point fingers at Republicans for their failures, yet now the party has pulled off a successive win that forces the Democrats to continue on the tips of their toes in the coming weeks as negotiations continue. Boehner's leadership effectively prevented a Democratic propaganda war from striking home, all the while circumventing attempts to keep the GOP as a party of no compromise.

That stated, the battle does not end with this victory. Members of the GOP must press forward and implement further cuts so as to defeat additional Democratic roadblocks to governmental reform. By continuing with this pattern of evasive grants, the Center-right will be able to dismantle unnecessary federal institutions without negatively impacting the well-being of its political status or general image.

Further, the events of Friday shoved Harry Reid and Barack Obama back into the spotlight, where they will likely be forced to answer to the shortcomings of their party in recent years. While Boehner's leadership threw off the portrait of self-interest which has for too long hung over the GOP mantle, it also made Reid's opposition appear childish, and Obama's even less convincing. Observers should remember his sudden embrace of the plans, which came only days after he categorically failed to endorse significant budgetary cuts. The president flip flopped, and the nation is watching.

As with all other conflicts, the battle for American prosperity is far from over, yet the remaining elements in play promise a stronger showing from conservatives and patriots in the rounds to come. If the president refuses to cooperate once more, then the government will be shutdown, but only after proving that the Republicans are not the one so gunning for it. Friday night's struggle was the stepping stone to further skirmishes in the vicious confrontation for American freedom.



John Lai

National Alliance Treasurer and Comptroller General