A lot of blame is going around in Washington after Congress passed a deal that reopened the federal government and increase the statutory debt limit for several months. Senate Republicans quickly accused the Republican conference in the House of Representatives for their behavior, while conservatives in the House blamed their moderate colleagues for eroding Speaker Boehner’s position.

“It’s the 20 to 30 moderate to liberal Republicans that are actually holding him back”.
- Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.)

It is hard to believe that the outcome would have been different with all moderate Republicans falling in line behind the Tea Party Representatives. But still, moderation is a good thing in this case, as neither President Obama, nor the democratic majority in the Senate, would have supported a bill defunding Obamacare. This deal was necessary to prevent default, albeit only for a little while.

The leadership in the House and Senate now need to work out a budget, as well as increasing the debt limit for more than just four months. Otherwise, we will likely see this mess happening again in January.