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The Debt Ceiling Phony War

Republicans and Democrats are already posturing over a vote to raise the debt ceiling. As you watch Democrats lacerate Republicans for risking the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, keep in mind that they all voted against raising the debt ceiling when Republicans held the White House:

Democrats in control of Congress, including then-Sen. Obama (Ill.), blasted President George W. Bush for failing to contain spending when he oversaw increased deficits and raised the debt ceiling. 
“Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren,” Obama said in a 2006 floor speech that preceded a Senate vote to extend the debt limit. “America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership.”
Obama later joined his Democratic colleagues in voting en bloc against raising the debt increase.

The difference is that Democrats were merely posturing, while Republicans seem to be trying to extract substantive policy concessions. In any case, the posturing is over whether the minority gets to merely embarrass the president, as has been the case before, or actually gets to force the president to give them something tangible.