memeorandum: Issa feared targeted by terrorists after Democrats revealed secret Libya trip (Alex Pappas/The Daily Caller)

4:55 PM ET, September 27, 2013

Top Items:

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.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, American Prospect, Washington Monthly, The Hill, The Plum Line, The World's Greatest …, Taegan Goddard's …, protein wisdom and Daily Kos

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:

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 …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, The Federalist, Hot Air, Pat Dollard, Hullabaloo, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's … and The Raw Story

New York Times:

A Republican Ransom Note — On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew sent the House a very serious warning that, for the first time, the United States would be unable to pay its bills beginning on Oct. 17 if the debt ceiling is not lifted. House leaders responded on Thursday …

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, his vorpal sword, Hit & Run, Daily Kos, ThinkProgress, PolicyMic, Why I Still Talk to Jesus, Scared Monkeys, Outside the Beltway, Real Clear Politics, Los Angeles Times, Post Politics and Politico

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:

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.”

Discussion: Business Insider

First Read / NBCNews:

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 …

Discussion: msnbc.com, Taegan Goddard's … and Yahoo! News

Joshua Green / The Boston Globe:
Shutdown is the best way to jolt Washington back to its senses

Discussion: Hit & Run, National Review, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …

Washington Post:
Republican hard-liners block strategy to avoid federal government shutdown

Discussion: The Fix, PostPartisan, Yahoo! News, Post Politics, WJLA-TV, The Daily Caller, The Hill and New York Times

New York Times:
Senate Passes Budget Bill as House Weighs Options

Discussion: Washington Post, Taking Note, The Week, The Plum Line, NPR and Outside the Beltway

Washington Post:

Gore accuses GOP of ‘political terrorism’ — By Aaron Blake and Karen Tumulty, Published: September 27 at 10:49 am — Former Vice President Al Gore on Friday called the GOP's strategy to defund Obamacare “political terrorism.” — Speaking at the Brookings Institution, Gore called it a …

Discussion: National Review, Weasel Zippers, Post Politics and TheBlaze.com

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Gore to GOP: ‘How dare you?’

Discussion: CNN, Politico and ABC News

TIME:
Obama Senior Adviser Compares Republicans To Terrorists

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show, No More Mister Nice Blog, PostPartisan, The Lead with Jake Tapper, Mediaite, National Review, The Huffington Post and Politico

Abby D. Phillip / ABC News:
Al Gore Accuses GOP of ‘Political Terrorism’ With Shutdown Threat

Discussion: Hot Air

The Lead with Jake Tapper:

Exclusive: Romney disagrees with GOP ‘tactics’ on Obamacare in D.C. — Mitt Romney thinks Obamacare is a bad law that will hurt the country, but disagrees with how conservatives in Washington are trying to get rid of it. — In an exclusive interview with CNN's Jake Tapper …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Taegan Goddard's …

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Obamacare Is About to Go Live. Here's Why It Was Worth the Wait.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Wonkblog and Wall Street Journal

Sean Higgins / Washington Examiner:
SEIU unionists strike over Obamacare-related cuts

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com, Betsy's Page and Weasel Zippers

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate approves measure to keep federal government operating — The Senate voted along party lines Friday to pass a stopgap spending measure lasting until Nov. 15 after removing controversial language to defund ObamaCare. — The 54-44 vote puts the Senate on a collision course with the House …

Discussion: Politico

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:
House Conservatives Warn GOP Senators: Vote for Cloture ‘Same As a Vote for Obamacare Itself’

Discussion: protein wisdom and The Right Scoop

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
Why should Congress get special exemption under Obamacare?

Discussion: Questions and Observations and protein wisdom

Wall Street Journal:
Senate Passes Funding Bill in Party-Line Vote

Discussion: Washington Wire and Taegan Goddard's …

Darryl Fears / Washington Post:

IPCC report says humans almost certainly cause global warming — A panel of the world's leading climate scientists strongly asserted Friday that “it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause” of global warming since 1950 and warned of more rapid ice melt and rising seas …

Discussion: CBS DC, USA Today, Taylor Marsh, Wonkblog, Right Wing News and The Gateway Pundit

Richard Schiffman / The Atlantic Online:
What Leading Scientists Want You to Know About Today's Frightening Climate Report

Discussion: The Dish and Guardian

Justin Gillis / New York Times:
U.N. Climate Panel Endorses Ceiling on Global Emissions

Discussion: RealClimate, ThinkProgress, Watts Up With That?, Watchdog Earth, Gothamist, Guardian, NPR, The Agonist, Institute for Energy Research and Online NewsHour

Steve Beshear / New York Times:

My State Needs Obamacare. Now. — FRANKFORT, Ky. — SUNDAY morning news programs identify Kentucky as the red state with two high-profile Republican senators who claim their rhetoric represents an electorate that gave President Obama only about a third of its presidential vote in 2012.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, Politico, ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, ABC News, Talking Points Memo, Post Politics and Booman Tribune

Associated Press:

OBAMA SPEAKS TO ROUHANI, SAYS IRAN DEAL POSSIBLE — You are here — Home » United States government » Obama speaks to Rouhani, says Iran deal possible — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke by telephone Friday …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Voices

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:
A Small President on the World Stage

Discussion: TheBlaze.com and Washington Wire

Stephen F. Hayes / Weekly Standard:

What Cruz Wrought — Ted Cruz has sparked a Republican civil war. He has done the bidding of the GOP fringe, in a self-aggrandizing crusade. And while he has enhanced his own position in the conservative fantasyland he seeks to rule, the practical effect of his quixotic campaign …

Catrina Stewart / The Independent:

Kenya shopping mall attack: Nairobi hostages were tortured before they were killed, says police doctor — Rumours of rapes, disfigurement and beheadings are rife in Kenya's capital — A police doctor scouring Nairobi's Westgate mall for bodies after a four-day siege by Islamist gunmen …

Discussion: National Review

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:

Average Is Over—if We Want It to Be — Tyler Cowen's new book Average Is Over makes an excellent followup to his previous work The Great Stagnation and I expect it will set the intellectual agenda in much the way that its predecessor did. I want to offer not so much a review as an effort at explication …

Discussion: American Prospect and National Review

Candida Moss / The Daily Beast:

The Gospel According to Bill O'Reilly's New Book ‘Killing Jesus’ — Jesus was killed because of taxes. That's more or less the message of Bill O'Reilly's new book. Professor Candida Moss on what else the Fox host gets wrong—and what he leaves out. — In Killing Jesus: A History …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Raw Story

Salvador Rizzo / New Jersey Online:

Judge legalizes same-sex marriage in New Jersey — TRENTON — A state judge today ruled to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey, saying gay couples would be denied federal benefits if the state kept allowing only civil unions. — Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson granted an emergency request …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, GovBeat, PolicyMic and Towleroad News #gay

Foreign Policy:

Exclusive: McCain Hires Controversial Syria Analyst Elizabeth O'Bagy — Sen. John McCain has hired Elizabeth O'Bagy, the Syria analyst in Washington who was fired for padding her credentials, The Cable has learned. She begins work Monday as a legislative assistant in McCain's office.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Republicans have ‘a bomb strapped to their chest’ … Republicans claim this constitutes comparing them to terrorists. I agree with Steve Benen here: “As a rule, regardless of where one falls on the political divide, officials should resist the urge to compare their rivals to terrorists.

Adam O'Neal / Real Clear Politics:

NBC News to Air Special Series on Obamacare — NBC News announced Friday that it will present a special series of programs and reports next week intended to “help Americans get the most out of the Affordable Care Act,” according to a press release. — Timed to coincide with the rollout …

Discussion: TheBlaze.com