memeorandum: Meet the two Democrats who voted to defund Obamacare (Alexis Levinson/The Daily Caller)

10:40 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: Politico, neo-neocon, Mediaite, Daily Kos, The Hill, National Review and Connecting.the.Dots

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: Taylor Marsh and Power Line

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:

John Boehner is being even more irresponsible than Ted Cruz — The House just voted for a “continuing resolution” that defunds Obamacare (though it wouldn't actually stop Obamacare from being implemented). Here's what House Speaker John Boehner hopes will happen next: — This'll go well.

Discussion: NBCNews, Speaker.gov, Hullabaloo and The Plum Line

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: The Hill, msnbc.com, Congressman John Carter, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, National Review, Taegan Goddard's …, NBC Latino and TechCrunch

Niels Lesniewski / Roll Call:

Filibuster the House CR? Cruz, Other Conservatives Say ‘Yes’ (Updated) — Sen. Ted Cruz said Friday that Republican senators should, in effect, filibuster the House-passed continuing resolution in the Senate. — The Texas Republican is calling on his colleagues to oppose limiting debate on it …

Discussion: Senate Conservatives Fund, The World's Greatest …, The Monkey Cage, Hot Air, Campaign for America's Future and TheBlaze.com

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:

House approves Stopgap Money, Setting Up Fight — WASHINGTON — House Republicans muscled through a stopgap bill Friday that would fund the government only if all spending for President Obama's health care law is eliminated. Senate Democrats and President Obama quickly made it clear …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Gothamist, Voices, CNN, The Reaction and The Hill

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, Business Insider, Guardian, Outside the Beltway, The Reaction, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Washington Monthly

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

Politico:
Senate turns to CR that defunds Obamacare

Discussion: The Plum Line, The Week, Talking Points Memo, Little Green Footballs, Business Insider, CNN and Crooks and Liars

New York Times:
Conservatives Take Turns Standing Up to the Speaker

Discussion: The Huffington Post, PostPartisan, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Hullabaloo, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Hill

Avik Roy / National Review:
Myths of the Obamacare Shutdown Soap Opera

Discussion: Power Line

Tim Alberta / NationalJournal.com:
Inside Boehner's Plan To Avoid Shutdown (And Wound Obamacare)

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

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

Discussion: The Raw Story and Daily Kos

Jake Tapper / The Lead with Jake Tapper:
GOP congressman: Senators will ‘find Jesus’ and defund Obamacare

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, DownWithTyranny! and Prairie Weather

Robert Costa / National Review:
Ted Cruz Punches Back

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

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

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Independent Journal Review and AMERICAN DIGEST

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

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

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

Ginger Gibson / Politico:

Darrell Issa to travel to Libya — Darrell Issa is scheduled to travel to Libya next week as part of his investigation into the attack last year on the Benghazi consulate, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. — The California Republican, who chairs the House Oversight …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo and Moe Lane

Julian Pecquet / The Hill: Democrats slam Chairman Issa for upcoming ‘partisan’ trip to Libya

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: epa.gov, E2-Wire, The PJ Tatler and ThinkProgress

Michael D. Shear / New York Times:
Administration Presses Ahead With Limits on Emissions From Power Plants

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Week, Daily Kos, National Review, Wonkblog and Hullabaloo

Ben Geman / E2-Wire:
EPA to propose carbon emission limits

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and ThinkProgress

Sarah Kliff / Wonkblog:

A guide to freaking out about the newest Obamacare glitch — Welcome to Health Reform Watch, Sarah Kliff's regular look at how the Affordable Care Act is changing the American health-care system — and being changed by it. You can reach Sarah with questions, comments and suggestions here.

Discussion: Hot Air, Hit & Run and Corrente

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

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Heritage Foundation, National Review, Washington Free Beacon and Wall Street Journal

Steve Benen / The Rachel Maddow Show:

Elections used to have consequences — If you listen to congressional Republicans defend their shutdown scheme and crusade to destroy the federal health care system, they'll routinely use the same phrase. The “American people,” the GOP claims, are on their side.

Discussion: Althouse, The Week, New York Times and The Plum Line

Adam Aigner-Treworgy / CNN:
Obama: ‘We are not some banana republic’

Discussion: Politico

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Rollie Chance, Wrongly Suspected Navy Yard Shooter: I Thought ‘This Must Be A Joke’ — WASHINGTON — No one knows what it's like to be a dead mass murderer. But for about 20 minutes on Monday, Rollie Chance got about as close to that experience as you can get.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Signs of Distress Multiplied on Killer's Path to Navy Yard

Discussion: The Lead with Jake Tapper and Clayton Cramer's Blog

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

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:

GOP Rep. Quotes Bible On Food Stamps: ‘If Anyone Is Not Willing To Work, Let Him Not Eat’ — Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) on Friday responded to a constituent opposed to drastically cutting food stamps for the young, elderly and poor by citing a Biblical quote: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

Discussion: Hullabaloo

New York Times:
Another Insult to the Poor

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

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:

What Your Neighborhood List-Serv Tells You About The Demise of America — I read the subject line for the latest message on my neighborhood listserv with interest: “Kids Cutting Grass?” — A few years ago I'd used a post with a similar headline to find someone to do some yard work.

Discussion: Ricochet Conversations Feed and Hot Air