comment: >
  
  
  That was until Newt discovered that he could use it as a political weapon
  
  Which is f'n stupid because that's literally what the 14th Amendment was to prevent when it says that "public debt...shall not be questioned".
context: This, like so many of the political problems we have, all started with Newt Gingrich.  Before 1995 the debts ceiling was increased as a mostly pro-forma procedure, there were occasional complaints about it, but it always passed.  That was until Newt discovered that he could use it as a political weapon then it has became a regular rolling crisis.