comment: >
  
  Not surprising, really. They often conveniently always leave out the freedom of the press in the 1st and mangle the 2nd as well, don't they?
  The Constitution to conservatives means whatever they can make it mean and get away with. They've learned from centuries of the Christian Church doing so with the Bible.
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. >
  
  
  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".