Assuming the debt ceiling gets raised on a clean bill, or with cuts of less than $4 Trillion, as the rating agencies are demanding to avoid a downgrade, we're looking at the next hostage situation.
The Bush tax cuts represent about half of the deficit. The wars and Medicare are the other major contributors.
If we ended the wars, implemented the Medicare Doc Fix and ended the Bush tax cuts, the deficit would all but disappear.
Since none of those have occurred, we are now looking at a new hostage situation: Cut the deficit by $4Trillion, maybe a little less depending on how the rating agencies view any final deal, or the USA's credit rating will be downgraded.
Never mind that the rating agencies themselves have no credibility after rating crap securities as AAA. Nothing we can do about that, global marketplace and all that.
So, unless we start agreeing right now that the deficit can be eliminated by doing the above, there will be calls to cut or "reform" social programs as the "serious" way to reduce the deficit.
We have the START with the position that Bush tax cuts, Medicare doc fix and ending the wars are the path to fiscal responsibility, NOT cutting or "tweaking" benefits in social programs that are the bedrock of Democratic values. By doing so, Dems will maintain their credibility with the public, who do not support cuts.
We also need to contact our reps and the WH, daily, and say this.