FLASHBACK: Stocks Plunged During GOP Debt Ceiling Brinksmanship

The last time congressional Republicans threatened to default on the nation's debt obligations – in July and August of 2011 – investors began a massive sell-off that resulted in a nearly 20 percent drop in the S&P 500. House Republicans at the time made it clear they were planning for default, a factor that ratings agency Standard & Poor's said figured significantly in its unprecedented downgrade on Aug. 5 – a downgrade that only exacerbated the sell-off.