The ironies about the current debt ceiling fight abound. As my column from today’s Roll Call shows, not only has the debt ceiling not always been linked with deficit reduction, but the GOP is trying both to deny and insist that not increasing the government’s borrowing limit by August 2 will cause real damage.

Contrary to what the GOP has been saying, financial markets not only will react negatively to the debt ceiling fight happening on Capital Hill, but as I explain in my column from today’s Roll Call, that negative reaction has already begun and it’s not at all ambiguous or tepid.