If both parties agree to raising the debt ceiling, what is there to negotiate?

It's not true that both parties agree. It's not true that ALL Republicans want to avoid a shutdown, or economic catastrophe in general. The FACT is that the Tea Partiers are all FOR complete collapse of the US.

Don't they constantly rail against our having any government?

The Republicans do not want to raise the debt Ceiling without budget cuts. They disagree on what budget cuts should be made.

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” …….. Senator Barack Obama 2006

Everything Dems do is for political purposes. That's why NO BILL EVER gets thru without something they can use to further the agenda. POWER that is.

"Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." -- Lord Acton Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, April 3, 1887

here it is in a nutshell...........

republicans want the exact same thing Democrats want........

reopen the gov't and avoid defaulting on our debts.

But the republicans want Obama to trash Obamacare first........or else............or ELSE......so help me GOD, we'll pull this pin, and blow us ALL up!!!!!!!

Basically, they are holding a knife to their OWN throats, and demanding concessions.............like the pack of true idiots they are.

Obama is basically smiling, and saying................so go ahead................slit your own throats.............I dare you.

and Boehner is slowly realizing, that if his empty threats don't actually work..................uhhhhhh, well, duh........then he had to slit his own throat.

He doesn't appear to have thought this bluff thru.....and Obama knows that.

That's why Boehner is looking like a world class FOOL right now.

He's gonna HAVE to cave sooner or later, or else we default on our debts. And that will be squarely on the republicans and even republicans know that.

I want to let you borrow a dollar. You say hey, i can borrow money, why not let me have your check book for a year. Unlimited checks. I say Yo Obama baby no more crack coke for you. You say, but I need it. I am jones for it. It will be racist. It will break me. I have to have your money. I say no

See how it works. Republicans are the grownups. Democrats are on drugs

They are just being silly acting like preschoolers.