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Today's debt ceiling vote all show

The new tradition of blatant one-upmanship continues on the House floor with a vote on the debt ceiling.

The new tradition of blatant one-upmanship continues on the House floor with a vote on the debt ceiling. Congress is scheduled to hold its first vote on debt ceiling this evening. They’re voting on a “clean bill,” brought to the floor by the GOP, to raise the debt limit $2.4 trillion without any federal spending cuts whatsoever.

That’s what most Democrats want. The GOP brought it to the floor. Everybody sing kumbaya and hold hands, right?

The GOP fully expects the outcome of this vote to fail — it’s just for show. This bill could divide Dems, and the GOP wants to know where each Democrat stands. In theory, they could woo a few Democrats, such as a few Blue Dogs, to side with their argument for deeper spending cuts as a consolation prize for raising the debt ceiling. This scene is just a very fancy way of taking a head count.

The S&P didn't seem to find this charade funny when they downgraded our long-term AAA credit rating back in April.

As Lawrence has said many times on the show, adults in Congress have always known a vote on raising the debt-limit is critical and must pass.

President Obama is scheduled to meet with House Republicans tomorrow.