memeorandum: Anthony Weiner: 'I'm not an idiot' (Tal Kopan/Politico)

4:10 PM ET, September 20, 2013

Top Items:

Paul Courson / CNN:

Peter King: Ted Cruz ‘is a fraud’ — Washington (CNN) - The government shutdown showdown is getting ugly. — Republican Rep. Peter King said Friday that his Republican colleague in the Senate, Ted Cruz, “is a fraud” who will “no longer have any influence in the Republican Party” …

Discussion: neo-neocon, The Hill, Mediaite, Politico and National Review

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

Actually, Senate GOP can't filibuster to defund Obamacare — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL CONGRESS OBAMACARE SENATE HEALTH CARE TED CRUZ — Senate Republicans, along with GOP lawmakers in the House, know that Sen. Ted Cruz and his colleagues don't have the votes to pass a continuing resolution to defund Obamacare.

Discussion: Washington Post, National Review, Guardian, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, Washington Monthly, Hot Air and The Daily Caller

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

House votes 230-189 to fund government, defund ObamaCare — The House on Friday passed legislation that defunds ObamaCare but would keep the government running through mid-December. — The legislation was approved on a party line 230-189 vote, with Rep. Scott Rigell (Va.) the only GOP no vote.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Huffington Post, USA Today, Borowitz Report, CBS News, ThinkProgress, PJ Media, NBCNews and LifeNews.com

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:

Never Surrender — Since January 2011, Republicans have tried to repeal Obamacare, in whole or in part, more than 40 times. That number is recited with a predictable sneer by congressional Democrats and the Washington press corps each time a new vote is held.

Discussion: Power Line

Tim Alberta / NationalJournal.com:

Inside Boehner's Plan To Avoid Shutdown (And Wound Obamacare) — Forget Friday's big spending bill vote. House leaders know the Senate will reject it and are ready to respond. Here's the GOP playbook. — House Republicans have orchestrated a master plan to avoid a government shutdown …

Discussion: NBCNews, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, First Read, The World's Greatest …, National Review, Taegan Goddard's …, Politico and Hot Air

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

In blow to immigration reform, House ‘gang of seven’ bill looks dead — In a blow to the hopes of passing immigration reform anytime soon, the bipartisan House “gang of seven” plan is probably dead, and almost certainly won't be introduced this fall as promised, a top Democrat on the “gang” acknowledges.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, msnbc.com, National Review, Taegan Goddard's … and TechCrunch

Robert Costa / National Review:

Ted Cruz Punches Back — Even among Republicans, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is one of Washington's most divisive figures. Activists love him, but leadership staffers and many of his colleagues can't stand him — especially his latest effort to connect a government-spending bill with the defunding of Obamacare.

Discussion: American Prospect, PostPartisan, The Lead with Jake Tapper, Talking Points Memo, Right Turn, TheBlaze.com, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Hot Air, Balloon Juice, The Hill and Commentary Magazine

Politico:

Senate turns to CR that defunds Obamacare — It's now up to the Senate. — With ten days until a possible government shutdown, the battle over federal spending has shifted to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) chamber will begin considering …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Talking Points Memo, The Week, Business Insider, Crooks and Liars, The Plum Line, CNN, Connecting.the.Dots and The Hill

New York Times:

Conservatives Take Turns Standing Up to the Speaker — WASHINGTON — Those in the circle of fiery House conservatives who are spearheading a fiscal showdown that threatens to shut down the government see themselves in vaunted company. — “It only takes one with passion — look at Rosa Parks …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, The Hill, Hullabaloo and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Politico:

Pelosi unplugged — Striking a tone of disgust, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi ridicules the GOP as obsessed with its loathing of President Obama and hell-bent on hurting him politically, regardless the cost. She assigns little to no blame to the president (even though Democrats privately …

Discussion: National Review, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, msnbc.com, Questions and Observations, Right Wing News, The Hill and Daily Kos

New York Times: House Passes Spending Bill Cutting Health Funds, Drawing Obama's Scorn

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Rep: Obamacare Defunders Are Following Example Of Rosa Parks, MLK

Discussion: Daily Kos

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Ted Cruz: ‘I Hope’ Senate GOP Blocks Reid From Funding Obamacare

Discussion: Daily Kos

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo: Reminder: Obamacare Will Continue If Government Shuts Down

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
John Boehner is being even more irresponsible than Ted Cruz

Discussion: NBCNews, The Plum Line and Hullabaloo

Alex Roarty / NationalJournal.com:
The Republicans Who Fear a Shutdown

Discussion: Politico and First Read

New York Times:
Another Insult to the Poor

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Week, Daily Kos and The Raw Story

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:
House passes spending bill to defund Obamacare

Discussion: Independent Journal Review and AMERICAN DIGEST

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
House GOP Passes Bill To Defund Obamacare Or Shut Down The Government

Discussion: The Raw Story

Fox News:
House votes to keep government open, defund ObamaCare

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

Washington Post:
House passes GOP plan to slash food stamp funding

Discussion: NBCNews, The Mahablog, Hot Air, The Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, Taegan Goddard's …, The Fix, USA Today and New York Times

Wall Street Journal:

Pricing Glitch Afflicts Rollout of Online Health Exchanges … Less than two weeks before the launch of insurance marketplaces created by the federal health overhaul, the government's software can't reliably determine how much people need to pay for coverage, according to insurance executives and people familiar with the program.

Discussion: Hot Air, National Review, Hit & Run, Via Meadia, The Heritage Foundation, The PJ Tatler, Washington Free Beacon and Corrente

Avik Roy / Forbes:
WSJ: Obamacare Software Can't ‘Reliably Determine’ Enrollees' Eligibility For Subsidies

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Sarah Kliff / Wonkblog:
A guide to freaking out about the newest Obamacare glitch

Discussion: Hit & Run

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Anthony Weiner: 'I'm not an idiot' — In his first national media interview since losing the New York City mayoral primary, former Rep. Anthony Weiner joined Geraldo Rivera for a nearly 20-minute appearance on Rivera's radio show Friday, taking responsibility for his loss while also blaming …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Daily Pundit

Gina McCarthy / The Huffington Post:

Time to Act on Climate Change — I didn't plan for a life built around protecting the environment. In fact, I started my career as a health agent in the town of Canton, Mass., and later worked for the Stoughton Board of Health. But at some point I realized that at its core …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, epa.gov and E2-Wire

Andrew Restuccia / Politico:
Al Gore: New EPA rule puts U.S. on path to solve climate crisis

Discussion: Reuters, E2-Wire, Al's Journal and Weasel Zippers

Tamara Cohen / Daily Mail:
World's top climate scientists told to ‘cover up’ …

Discussion: Daily Express, Althouse, Weasel Zippers, Climate Depot and Vox Popoli

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:

The real Navy Yard scandal — In the liberal remake of “Casablanca,” the police captain comes upon the scene of the shooting and orders his men to “round up the usual weapons.” — It's always the weapon and never the shooter. Twelve people are murdered in a rampage at the Washington Navy Yard …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, American Power, Betsy's Page and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Americans Fault Mental Health System Most for Gun Violence

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Hill, Real Clear Politics, Politico and Post Politics

Ashley Halsey III / Washington Post:
Navy Yard rampage began with gunman's colleagues, sources and witnesses say

Discussion: WJLA-TV, The Hill and The Week

Hassan Rouhani / Washington Post:

Why Iran seeks constructive engagement — Hassan Rouhani is president of Iran. — Three months ago, my platform of “prudence and hope” gained a broad, popular mandate. Iranians embraced my approach to domestic and international affairs because they saw it as long overdue.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, BuzzFeed, New York Times, Gawker, Guardian, AEIdeas, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, NBCNews, The Week, Consortiumnews.com, Politico, Via Meadia, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and CNN

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Crazy Party — Early this year, Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, made headlines by telling his fellow Republicans that they needed to stop being the “stupid party.” Unfortunately, Mr. Jindal failed to offer any constructive suggestions about how they might do that.

Discussion: The Federalist, BillMoyers.com, Prairie Weather, Power Line, msnbc.com, PostPartisan and PoliticusUSA

Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register:

Iowa's Chuck Grassley: I am running for re-election (updated) — Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, 80, said today that he will run again, which likely means at least one of Iowa's U.S. Senate seats will remain in Republican hands. — “I'm planning on running for re-election,” he said on the public television show Iowa Press.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Roll Call