Who’s ready for a debt ceiling faceoff? Congress is gearing up for yet another avoidable showdown on Capitol Hill caused by the debt ceiling. We have seen this unnecessary battle take place before in Washington, but this one might prove to be the biggest waste of time yet.

Understanding the concept of the debt ceiling and why it should be raised is simple: America has to pay its bills. Raising the debt ceiling allows for the treasury to pay off debts the U.S. government owes. The debt ceiling isn’t raised to spend new money, it’s raised to pay for the programs and expenditures Congress had already decided to spend money on. If the debt ceiling is not raised, Congress is simply telling those who we owe money to that we will not be paying them back.

Previous presidents like Ronald Reagan, who raised the debt ceiling over 15 times, and George W. Bush all have raised the debt ceiling without receiving any kind of backlash from Congress. However, due to the volatile atmosphere radical Republicans and Tea Partiers have created in Washington, House Republicans are hell-bent on destroying the Obama presidency and eventually America with these idiotic tactics in hopes of proving an ideological point that does not apply in the debt ceiling debate.

When a group of House Republicans declares it won’t budge on the debt ceiling issue, it is putting the markets and the full faith and credit of the United States in jeopardy. If we, the citizens, decided we weren’t going to pay our bills or taxes, our wages would be garnished, our homes and cars would be repossessed and we would likely face jail time. Not to mention the fact that it’s illegal to let the nation default. Check the 14^th Amendment. But the House Republicans see no problem in making America’s leaders look like deadbeat politicians just to try to make the president look bad, even though they would be diminishing the reputation of the United States as a whole if we send the message that the nation’s bills won’t be paid.

We are all tired of hearing about these manufactured political catastrophes that are 100 percent avoidable. Our country is being crippled by politicians who have plans to accomplish individual or party agendas while the American people end up with the bad end of the deal. The Tea Party could care less about this country and the reputation we hold for being an exceptional nation. The members of the Tea Party in Washington are the true political terrorists, and we need to rid ourselves of this Tea Party sickness that has plagued the political process of this nation for far too long.