Next week the House will vote on that "cut, cap and balance" approach to the debt ceiling dilemma, a proposal that would "raise the debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion, with matching cuts and guidelines to control future government spending," The Wall Street Journal reports. It also includes a "measure that would amend the U.S. Constitution to require the federal government to balance its budget."

While Senator Jim DeMint might be pleased about the bill, most news outlets don't see it gaining much traction outside the Republican-led House: The Washington Post called the move "a symbolic one," and Bloomberg, The Journal, and The New York Times all used variations of the word "unlikely" when describing the bills chances for passage in the Senate. So why vote? From Bloomberg:

It will enable Republicans to put their stance on the record while offering no immediate resolution to talks in Washington aimed at reaching a deficit-cutting deal by an Aug. 2 deadline for raising the U.S. debt ceiling.

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Erik Hayden