the party not in control of the presidency always votes to turn down raising the debt ceiling. the only real exception being in 1953 during Eisenhower. it is a political move...and no, that is not a defense of it. this kind of shit is exactly what is wrong with BOTH parties.
Obama openly admitted his stance against it before was a political vote. but...as republicans argued in 06, this is to pay for things we have already done and not things we will do.
“The debt ceiling is not a question of authorizing more spending. Raising the debt ceiling does not authorize more spending. It simply allows the country to pay for spending that Congress has already committed to.” - Obama 01-14-13
i will agree 100% we must reduce spending - but we all have our own ideas for where these cuts should happen.
if we all sat down with calculators we would see "welfare" is marginal in cost to other facets of our government.
"...by curbing the cost of uncompensated care, and ending unwarranted subsidies, health reform reduces the deficit by over $1 trillion over the next two decades."