How about a little perspective?

One thing that seems notably lacking in the reportage of Fiscal Cliff, Deficit level, Unemployment rate, et al. in the U.S. right now is just a modicum of perspective. Well that's what I'm here for.

What is the bigger news: income tax rates going up by 4.6% on individuals earning £200K or couples earning $250K a year . . . or the Bush tax cuts being made permanent for about 99% of the population? Given that these cuts passed in 2003 with just 2 Democratic votes in the Senate and 7 in the House, this looks to me like a huge vindication of the popularity of George W's hard won tax reductions. As to the rises for the top 1%, it is always popular to hit the rich when the economy is in the tank, especially when the bankers had more than a little to do with the collapse in the first place. When the economy recovers - whenever that may be - a Republican administration might be able to reverse or seriously amend them; but nobody's going to raise income tax rates on the 99%. Other taxes are bound to go up - I don't recall the politicians saying much about the fact that the temporary reduction in the Social Security tax rate in 2011/12 from 6.2% to 4.2% has NOT been renewed for 2013 - but income tax rates are likely as high on all levels of income as they're ever going to be. Is this not a major victory for Republican tax cutters, if they only knew it?!

Many conservatives, including myself, have castigated the Obama foreign policy as less than energetic in protecting America's interests - as we see them, of course. But we are apparently prepared to intervene against Syria's WMD, the Patriot Act has been renewed with extra added surveillance, Guantanamo Bay is still open for business, the troop surge in Iraq was repeated in Afghanistan, and drone strikes against terrorists in Pakistan, Somalia, etc. are more frequent than ever. The mistakes made in unconditionally encouraging the Arab Spring, regrettable as they were, are gradually being superceded by more realistic policies. So again Bush's policies in this area are now still being pursued in many of their aspects.

Pres. Obama's biggest accomplishment is so-called Obamacare. The rather quirky Supreme Court ruling that ruled it Constitutional and the results of the 2012 elections mean it will never be repealed. However the complexity of the legislation combined with the liberties taken in justifying it's cost mean that before very long significant elements of it will have to be amended to make it more efficient and less expensive for government and the private suppliers of medicines, hospital care, etc. Effective action is unlikely to be possible while the current President is still in office, but I would predict that sometime between 2017 and 2020 this will happen, no matter who wins the next Presidential election.

The upcoming fights over spending "cuts" (really over reining in future increases in spending) and entitlements and tax reform will very likely produce an almost totally Republican/conservative-friendly package at the end, even if it falls short of what they might consider ideal. Given that the Presidency and the Senate are controlled by Democrats/liberals, the idea some conservative zealots have of all or nothing politics is quite baffling. It seems to be more in keeping with rebels against a dictatorship than the political give and take of a representative democracy. One only has to note that the Fiscal Cliff-avoiding deal was only made possible when the negotiations were taken over by the "adults" in the Senate.

So doom and gloom should not be allowed to prevail amongst the ranks of my fellow conservatives. Much has been achieved and more can be achieved in 2013. If they want to achieve more, then maybe putting up mainstream respected - and  respectable! - Senate candidates in 2014 against the vulnerable Democrat Class of 2008 might be a good idea.