Washington (CNN) - The political posturing - and theater - related to the fiscal cliff continued Thursday as Senate leaders squared off over whether to make it harder for Congress to block future increases in the debt ceiling.

At issue was a move by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell - and meant to put Democrats in a tough spot - that backfired. McConnell pushed for a vote on an idea he first proposed last year as part of the debt ceiling standoff.