Earlier this year, during the debate over the budget, the GOP leadership in DC made a deal with the democrats and told us it was the best they could do.  The cuts were not as big as originally promised, but that's all right.  What really mattered is that republicans could not be blamed for a supposed government shutdown.  Besides, the real fight would be waged during the debt ceiling debate and the next budget.  Well here we are with the debt ceiling and once again we are told this deal is the best we could do.  The republican leadership is once again acting because of fear, this time of being blamed for a default on our debt and a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.  Never mind that the House passed a bill to deal with the debt ceiling weeks ago while the democrats did nothing in the Senate.  So we have a deal on the debt ceiling and once again things are not as good as we are told that they are.  Yes the conversation in D.C. moved from spending to cutting, but there are no real spending cuts in this deal.  The cuts are actually cuts in how fast the spending will increase.  Real cuts would require ending baseline budgeting.  Also, the joint committee that will be formed later this year is not required to recommend the deficit reduction we are being told that they will.  To make matters worse, all of this may do nothing to prevent a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.  And of course the republicans will be blamed for that despite passing this bill so all of this panicked deal making will be for nothing.  Looking at all of this makes it clear that the GOP leadership in D.C. is not able to fight for us.  We could primary and replace them, but that would only mean that the next in line of seniority would take their place.  What we need to do is send as many tea party minded people to D.C. as we can in 2012 so that they will have numbers great enough to select one of their own as leaders and of course elect a conservative President.  Meanwhile, having let us down on the 2011 budget and the debt ceiling, there is no reason to be optimistic that the Paul Ryan budget will be promoted and fought for.  Expect "This Is The Best Deal We Could Get part 3 later this year.