MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said Tuesday it was scary that Republicans like Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) were willing to “not face the warning signs” about raising the federal debt ceiling and take the United States “right of the cliff.”

His guest, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), noted that it was a misconception that raising the debt ceiling would permit Congress to spend more.

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“All we are doing is making good on the spending that has already occurred,” she said. “It’s like they bought a new car and don’t want to make the payments.”

Later speaking with Salon.com’s Joan Walsh, Matthews said that the Republican’s plan to hold the debt ceiling “hostage” until Democrats agreed to budget cuts was “terrorism.”

Watch video, courtesy of MSNBC, below:

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