海角大神

A bipartisan group calling itself the 鈥淔ix the Debt Campaign鈥� kicked off its work Tuesday, and when these听clear-eyed, pragmatic, bipartisan powers combine, they just might be the granddaddy of all Washington鈥檚 seemingly never-ending stream of commissions, working groups, and 鈥済angs鈥� of all membership levels aimed at correcting the nation鈥檚 treacherous financial trajectory.

But that name just doesn鈥檛 have the right swing 鈥� how about The Debt Avengers? The (Fiscal) Justice League? Or, if it wasn鈥檛 already sullied by congressional impotence, The Supercommittee?

Fix the Debt has arguably accumulated everybody who is anybody in Washington鈥檚 wonky, 鈥渓et鈥檚 get real鈥� set about federal debt and deficits. The effort is led by former Sen. Alan Simpson (R) of Wyoming and Democrat Erskine Bowles. Yes, the Simpson and Bowles of the Simpson-Bowles plan to reduce the nation鈥檚 debt by $4 trillion over 10 years, which nearly every elected official in Washington says (when trying to sound reasonable and bipartisan) that they love in theory but won鈥檛 touch otherwise. A vote for a plan along the lines of Simpson-Bowles听in the House earlier this year turned up less than three dozen votes.

And that鈥檚 the group鈥檚 main question: What鈥檚 going to make it different from all the other herdings of well-meaning, rational, patriotic Americans who have beat their heads against the walls of Congress and the White House to no avail? Simpson-Bowles, after all, was the product of President Obama鈥檚 own debt commission 鈥� a fact easily forgotten considering the president left the plan largely for dead upon its publication, only to broadly endorse it later on.

But Messrs. Simpson and Bowles have backup. They are joined by Alice Rivlin, the first-ever director of the Congressional Budget Office who, by her own admission, 鈥渕ay have served on more debt commissions than anybody in Washington,鈥� and is half of a duo (the other is former Sen. Pete Dominici (R) of New Mexico) that published a second bipartisan debt reduction plan.

Lawmakers looking for guidance from Wall Street types can look to famed investment banker Peter Peterson on the right or Steven Rattner, Mr. Obama鈥檚 auto czar, on the left. Those who want private-sector bona fides can find them in Honeywell chairman and CEO Dave Cote and World Fuel Services chairman and CEO Paul Stebbins. And for that down-the-middle, think tank-y wonkishness, there鈥檚 former World Bank chief Robert Zoellick and the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Maya McGuineas.

How could they succeed? It won鈥檛 be as exciting as beating back an alien invasion, but could prove as difficult in today鈥檚 gridlocked Washington: First, they鈥檒l become a clearinghouse for bipartisan pathways to solving the nation鈥檚 debt and deficit problems once the November elections are resolved.

鈥淲hat we want is once this election cycle is over, we want to be available as a resource to whoever the next president is to be able to govern well and the next Congress to govern well,鈥� said former Sen. Judd Gregg (R) of New Hampshire, one of the campaign鈥檚 co-chairmen. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to give them a lot of good ideas so they can accomplish that.鈥�

Second, they鈥檒l work outside Washington by building relationships with corporate leaders and running a 鈥淣ational Debt Tour鈥� roadshow, among other measures, to build pressure for a comprehensive solution from beyond the Potomac. If the American people start pushing their representatives for a debt deal, they reason, its chances will improve dramatically.

鈥淚t鈥檚 necessary for us to create an environment where it becomes not only good policy to vote 'yes' for a debt-reduction plan but good politics as well,鈥� said former Gov. Ed Rendell (D) of Pennsylvania, the campaign鈥檚 other co-chairman.

Yes, they say, a deal by July 4, 2013, is conceivable, but that would require Congress to delay some $600 billion in spending cuts and higher taxes from Dec. 31 through the middle of next year.

The group, however, is in the same bind that all organizations of former lawmakers and experts are in: They want action but are in no way able to make that happen.

They can chide the political parties, as Honeywell鈥檚 Mr. Cote did: 鈥淲e can鈥檛 have people continue to revel in discordant pluralism or just indulging in simultaneous asphyxiation when we have a problem of this magnitude to address.鈥�

They can urge the parties to act, as Mr. Bowles did: 鈥淲e鈥檝e got enough really good ideas out there, what we need now is to act. We need real action.... We do face a fiscal cliff. If we do nothing and we barrel through this fiscal cliff at the end of the year, we鈥檙e going to have about $7 trillion hit this country right in the gut.鈥�

But what would they tell Congress to do? How are they going to help grease the levers of power in Washington to head off what they see as an imminent financial Armageddon?

鈥淲e don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 our job to tell Congress" how to deal with the fiscal cliff or with the lame duck session, said Mr. Gregg. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just going to be here as a resource.鈥�