Conservative Groups Band Together to Block Debt Ceiling Hike

They won't agree to any increase in the debt ceiling without significant cuts in spending:

More than 40 conservative groups and 20 members of Congress will announce later Wednesday that they have signed a pledge to block a vote on raising the debt ceiling unless it is coupled with plans to cut, cap and balance federal spending, according to a statement provided to POLITICO.

Ten Republican senators – including Jim DeMint, Marco Rubio and Orrin Hatch – along with 10 members of the House — Ron Paul and Jason Chaffetz, among them — have agreed to the “Cut, Cap, Balance” pledge, as have major conservative groups, such as the Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, Freedom Works, the National Taxpayers Union, the American Family Association and Tea Party Express.

Those who sign the pledge commit to opposing any effort to raise the debt ceiling that does not come with substantial spending cuts beginning in fiscal 2012, enforceable spending caps and congressional passage of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would require a balanced budget, spending limits and a super-majority for raising taxes.

The move is a major conservative push to counter efforts to hike the debt limit without agreeing to spending cuts — as Democrats prefer — or come with spending cuts on the order of $2 trillion to $3 trillion, as has been recommended by House Speaker John Boehner, without long-term plans in place to restrain spending.

But can they stand up to the GOP leadership that seems to want to avoid confrontations over this issue at all costs? I hope so. The madness has to end.