The Republican National Convention starts next week and the Democratic National Convention follows shortly after. There will be a lot of red meat at these conventions, and not just at the steakhouses in Tampa and Charlotte. No, we will see a lot of pandering to the conservative and liberal bases, a bunch of lofty rhetoric, numerous false accusations, and plenty of mugging for the camera. What we won’t see discussed is much in the way of the important, politically-tough solutions that are necessary for the country to move away from the fast approaching fiscal chasm.

At each of the conventions, in addition to plenty of partying, there will be a lot of time spent building up each party’s candidate while tearing the other guy down. There will be a lot of rhetoric about how this party will protect Medicare and Social Security while the other party will eviscerate it – and vice versa. About how one candidate has the solution to the economic woes facing our country while the other guy would take us back to the Stone Age.

It won’t stop there. After all the confetti is cleaned up, it’s a two month sprint toward the election. Hope they get all the rhetoric out of their system, because after that is resolved, there’s a ton of work to be done, even before the inauguration. That’s true whether it’s President Obama or President Romney taking the oath of office on the western steps of the Capitol in January.

Even if Congress punts passing the spending bills for the October 1^st start of fiscal year 2013 well into next year (before taking August off, Speaker Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) agreed to continue to fund government at 2012 levels until March 2013 – half way through the fiscal year) there is still a ton of work to do. The 2001, 2003, and 2009 tax cuts all expire at the end of the year. The federal government will be nearing the maximum allowable debt (remember the debt ceiling fight?). Roughly $100 billion in automatic across-the-board defense and non-defense cuts (sequestration) are poised to kick in January 1^st. And that list doesn’t even include hardy perennials like avoiding cuts to physician Medicare payments and a patch to prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from affecting millions more Americans than were intended. Or the expiring 2008 Farm Bill.

The lack of political leadership to get something done is dragging down the recovery. The Congressional Budget Office said as much in their Economic Outlook that they released this week. No one has confidence that Washington will tackle these problems, or that they will make the necessary compromises. While some think the election will wipe away the gridlock and provide resolution, there are no guarantees. In fact, no matter who is in the majority in the House and the Senate, it won’t be by much. And the Presidential race looks tight as well.

Instead of frittering away the next month with campaign promises, political posturing, and rhetorical head feints, Congress should demonstrate to their constituents that they can get something done for the country. They’re more than welcome to start with the $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction we found. That’s the kind of accomplishment voters want to see. Instead of watching Congress kick the can down the road (again), taxpayers should kick Congress in the can and demand action. We cannot afford less.