In a time when cynicism about politics seems to be everyone's gut reaction, it's easy to overlook the role of lower-profile lawmakers who helped avert a debt-ceiling crisis.
Just don't call them "moderates."
"Moderates?" tweeted Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., one of the lead negotiators of the debt-ceiling deal that passed the House overwhelmingly Wednesday night. He prefers the descriptor: "pragmatic conservatives who actually care about getting to work."
Johnson, who looks more Bill Gates than Matt Gaetz, represents about 75 GOP members as chairman of the "Republican Main Street Caucus."
It's one of what this Congress' Republicans colloquially refer to as the mafioso-themed "Five Families." The Main Street Caucus, and a host of other coalitions in the middle, like the "New Democrat Coalition" on the other side of the aisle, were critical in securing support for the deal.
There were plenty of well-founded complaints on either side — on the left, worries about increased work requirements that could hurt people in poverty, nervousness about the environmental impact of sped-up energy permits; on the right, continued head-shaking about what they see as out-of-control spending and debt, now topping $30 trillion.
But in the end, two-thirds of House Republicans and more than three-quarters of Democrats voted for the bill for a total tally of 314-117.
The Senate still has to pass the measure, but if it does, as is expected, it will be those who eschewed the wings of their parties — which have some of the most vocal, attention-getting members — who averted a potentially calamitous, first-ever U.S. debt default.
By Domenico Montanaro
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