As the hours count down on the nation's debt clock, congressional negotiators reached an agreement they hope will avert a government default. Will rank-and-file Republicans go along? Should they?

Media reports and Democratic Party spinners frame the Capitol Hill showdown as a case of GOP/tea party "extremism." But many reputable economists say it is Washington's ravenous spending machine that is wrecking the economy and pushing the country closer to depression.

Articles in the Sunday newspapers speculated that private-sector jobs, public-works projects and credit markets would melt down if Congress does not raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by Tuesday.

Under rising political and fiscal pressure to do a deal, Democratic leaders accepted a modified version of the plan first proposed by House Speaker John Boehner.

The proposal would raise the debt limit in two steps by about $2.4 trillion and cut federal spending by slightly more. But unlike the earlier plan summarily rejected by the Democratic Senate, the new version would not mandate a subsequent vote on a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

In another apparent win for President Obama, the deal reportedly extends the debt ceiling past the 2012 elections. The White House, in turn, backed off its insistence on automatic tax increases if debt-ceiling increases were not approved.

The administration and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hailed the "bipartisan compromise" Sunday evening and Obama called on all parties to get on board.

"I want to urge members of both parties to do the right thing and support this deal with your votes over the next few days," the president said.

"It will allow us to avoid default. It will allow us to pay our bills.  It will allow us to start reducing our deficit in a responsible way. And it will allow us to turn to the very important business of doing everything we can to create jobs, boost wages, and grow this economy faster than it's currently growing."

Republicans were less enthusiastic. The Washington Post reported some were angry that defense appropriations would be hit disproportionately hard by future budget reductions.

Of greater concern, conservatives said the envisioned cuts don't go nearly deep enough.

“The Boehner-Reid plan, at best, will result in a further increase in the national debt of $7 trillion. It cuts only $6 billion for next year out of a budget that will spend literally over 600 times that, so it’s no wonder it has been widely criticized by fiscal conservatives," said Peter Ferrara, senior fellow for Entitlement and Budget Policy at the Heartland Institute.

“These budget debates make no sense because of ‘baseline budgeting,’ which builds in trillions in automatic increases in the budget, and then calls any reduction in that runaway increase a draconian cut in spending."

Boehner's original plan barely squeaked through the GOP-controlled House last week as conservative Republicans balked. Whether a watered-down version will fly is unknown.


A DEAL THAT COMPROMISES THE PEOPLE?

George LeMieux, a Florida GOP candidate for U.S. Senate, told Sunshine State News, “This deal is no time for celebration; it offers no significant debt reduction for our children and grandchildren, and no fundamental reforms that will solve Washington’s spending addiction.

"As a U.S. senator, I supported a balanced budget amendment, and authored legislation that would have balanced our budget in two years. During this critical crisis, Senator Bill Nelson is again absent and ineffectual and needs to be replaced," LeMieux said.

Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Tallahassee, was one of the GOP congressmen who voted against Boehner's initial plan.