Rep. Colleen Hanabusa acknowledged that Republicans had the edge in a debt debate that left neither side completely satisfied. (Read the complete story.) 

“You would have to give it to the Republicans because, in essence, (a debt-ceiling increase) got tied to what would normally be a vote that Democrats have not held Republican presidents to,” Hanabusa said in an interview with DC808.

But she also wondered about how the negotiations that played out over the debt ceiling will affect the 2012 elections.

“The question is whether or not that was the mature thing to do, or something that you really want people to look at the Republicans as having done,” Hanabusa said. “That’s something that only the voters are going to determine.”

As The New York Times put it last month, the debt debate was a battle in the greater war over how government should operate. The fight is sure to intensify during election season. 

“I know one caucus is just saying, ‘Well, this is what happens when you don’t have the majority, so we better work hard in 2012,’” Hanabusa said. “So that’s one way of looking at it.”