Do Republicans Have the Temerity to Hold the Debt Ceiling?  The
Democrats have a habit of sabotaging our economy and then
demanding that we pass their legislation to avert impending doom
that would result from their original policies.  Unfortunately,
Republicans credulously accept their premises and acquiesce to
the emergency legislative actions.  We watched this unfold
during the debate over TARP, in which Republicans naively bought
into the notion that the Great Depression would return unless
they supported the Democrat bailouts.  We agonized over it when
Republicans agreed to extend unemployment welfare and ethanol
subsidies for another year, lest taxes go up for a week in
January.  The same dynamic is now unfolding with the debate
concerning the debt ceiling.  The national debt currently stands
at $13.95 trillion, as we accrue over $100 billion in new debt
every month.  By that calculation, we will surpass the $14.29
trillion debt ceiling in less than three months.  The Democrats
are demanding that Republ