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. Movement in fiscal cliff talks The legislation would allow the president to increase the debt ceiling without congressional approval, though Congress could block the move if a two-thirds majority of both the House and Senate voted to disapprove it. Democrats want the change because raising the limit has become increasingly contentious, as Republicans have demanded spending cuts and other reforms to go along with it. Another debt limit increase is needed early next year.
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A move by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell backfires
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McConnell pushed for a vote on a debt ceiling idea he first proposed last year
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After a move by Majority Leader Reid, McConnell wound up objecting to a vote on the idea
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Democrats said it was another sign that Republicans are losing the battle on the fiscal cliff
But in the back-and-forth legislative chess match that often plays out on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid instead moved to pass the measure with a 51-vote threshold, confident that he had at least that many votes to give @placeholder a victory.