The first battle of the American Debt Crisis is over. Perhaps the deciding battle will be fought in the 2012 elections.Everyone’s focused on the outcome of the presidential contest, but control of the House and Senate is at least as important.

IN 2011, NEARING THE END OF THE FIRST TERM OF PRESIDENT OBAMA, CONGRESS IS SPLIT. REPUBLICANS HOLD A MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND DEMOCRATS HOLD A MAJORITY IN THE SENATE. Graph by Mattbot69 via Wikimedia Commons

Questions:

• Is America now a three-party nation? Tea Party, Democratic Party, Republican Party? Which party, if any, will dominate the 2012 Congressional elections?
• Will another party emerge? I’m thinking it might be called the Christian-Democratic Party. I think the Tea Party is clearly out of touch with bedrock Gospel values. The Democratic Party in America, oddly enough, more nearly reflects the Gospel message, but Democrats are so focused on being secular that they can’t connect their policies with values.
• Exactly how real is the “Debt Crisis?” Republicans and Tea Party people have repeated “spending problem” and “debt crisis” over and over until it has become the common wisdom. But clearly, in comparison to the situation in Greece, or the European Union, or Japan, or many other countries, the U.S. financial situation if solid. The debt is not sustainable in the long run. But is it really a “crisis” in the immediate future? No. I would call it a “serious problem,” not a crisis. Common-sense problem-solving is needed, by reasonable people, in a non-crisis atmosphere. Can we do that?
• Who are the winners and losers? I just don’t know. Except this: the core American programs of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are safe for now.
• Misinformation abounds all around. Especially this: Politicians are purposely misleading the public regarding the prospects of jobs and economic recovery. People need to know that we have entered a new reality in a global economy, and the age of American Privilege is over.

Now I have to go to work. Maybe I’ll write more thoughts about a Christian-Democratic Party later. It’s probably not what you think.

— John Hayden

Related articles

• David Bromwich: Why Has Obama Never Recognized the Tea Party? (huffingtonpost.com)