Debt ceiling bill, ctd. What now?

As of Sunday evening, the White House and leaders of Congress have agreed upon a new deal that would raise the debt ceiling and avoid a government credit default.

But, and that’s a big “but,” the plan still has to pass the House and the Senate. As we know, Tea Party members have been hostile to any plan that increases the debt ceiling, while Democrats have said they would vote against any plan that does not raise the debt ceiling through 2012.

Credit: C-SPAN

Meanwhile, every single House Democrat voted against the previous bill, which passed 218-211 with only mainstream Republican support. Here are the House Republicans who voted against the previous measure:

(Freshman members are in bold):  Amash (MI), Bachmann (MN), Broun (GA), Chaffetz (UT),Cravaack (MN), DesJarlais (TN), Duncan (SC), Graves (GA),  Gowdy (SC), Huelskamp (KS), Johnson (IL), Jordan (OH), King (IA), Latham (IA), Connie Mack (FL), McClintock (CA), Mulvaney (SC), Ron Paul (TX), Tim Scott (SC),Southerland (FL)Walsh (IL), Wilson (SC). ((http://www.c-span.org/Events/House-Approves-Speaker-Boehner39s-Revised-Debt-Plan/10737423174/))

One quickly notices such Tea Party names as Bachmann, Broun and Paul (Since this is a rather dry topic, here’s an entertaining video from the Ron Paul presidential campaign from 2008).

While the agreement does indeed raise the debt ceiling via a two-step process through 2013, concerns on whether it will pass remain. According to The New York Times:

If the compromise were to be nailed down, attention would immediately turn to selling it to the rank-and-file. The leadership was anticipating objections from Republicans that the plan did not go far enough while Democrats were wary that Medicare spending would take a hit.

We can only assume that the mutinous Tea Party faction will continue to hold out, demanding the impossible and going against their own party, while I predict that the majority of Republicans will again be on board. The question is: will the plan gain the support of all the same Republicans from the previous vote or will some drop into the “nay” column? We shall see. Aug 2 is D-Day, so the stakes couldn’t be higher at this point.