Because the Republican party has been infiltrated by an ideological fraction that is impervious to arguments and unwilling to compromise. At least that's what i

Because the Republican party has been infiltrated by an ideological fraction that is impervious to arguments and unwilling to compromise. At least that's what it looks like to me. I think most people are not worried, because they believe that the responsible parties will raise the debt ceiling in time. I think those people underestimate the the reality distortion from which the tea party suffers. The other reason is that the US debt is reaching worrisome levels, and at some point needs to be curbed. That is not a political problem, though, that is a problem of society. People in the US want everything, but nobody wants to pay for it. The US debt here is just an extension of willingness to go into personal debt, which is much greater here than is most other western countries.