The GOP should just do it  —  Shut down the government!  Blow through the debt ceiling!  Subject the United States to fiscal chaos or financial ruin if your party can't get its way on unrelated ideological priorities!  —  With apologies to Nike, maybe it's time for the House Republicans to stop threatening and “Just do it.”

First Thoughts: Boehner's bluff?  —  Back to talk of a government shutdown, but is it real or does Boehner blink? ...  If GOP had any hope of blaming Obama and Democrats for a shutdown, the Corker-Cruz spat on the Senate floor didn't help its cause ... Let's remember how we got here …

Republican hard-liners block strategy to avoid federal government shutdown  —  Washington stumbled toward a shutdown as the Republican Party's rebellious right wing on Thursday blocked a strategy by House Speaker John A. Boehner for navigating a series of deadlines to keep the government funded and avoid a first-ever default.

Cruz emerges as GOP leader  —  PPP's newest national poll finds Ted Cruz is now the top choice of Republican primary voters to be their candidate for President in 2016.  He leads the way with 20% to 17% for Rand Paul, 14% for Chris Christie, 11% for Jeb Bush, 10% each for Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan …

Cruz to House Conservatives: Oppose Boehner  —  On a Thursday conference call, a group of House conservatives consulted with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas about how to respond to the leadership's fiscal strategy.  Sources who were on the call say Cruz strongly advised them to oppose it, and hours later, Speaker John Boehner's plan fizzled.