The fact that the Tea Party decided to directly attach this issue to the vote on raising our debt ceiling had a direct impact on why we had our credit downgraded. If we just raised our debt ceiling like we have countless times before without the fanfare that the Tea Party caused we would still have a AAA rating today. Thats just a fact.
I guess you think just routinely raising the debt limit without anyone contesting it will make us more financially secure? The downgrade should be a wake-up call for us to get our house in order before we reach the point of no return. Maybe we should be thanking S&P for waking us up. Some people (politicians) are unable to do what's right unless they are forced to. Then they blame someone else tor the problem they, themselves, have created.
I never said that just raising the debt limit over and over was a smart financial idea, but that doesn't change the fact that the actions of the Tea Party (whether you like what they did or disagree with it) directly caused our credit to be downgraded.
It was both parties agreeing to short term agreements instead of long term outlooks,which is what S&P were looking for.