memeorandum: House Republican: Senate is ‘playing games’ (Ashley Killough/CNN)

12:35 PM ET, September 29, 2013

Top Items:

From Bachmann, a persuasive case for why many Republicans don't fear a shutdown — Why have House Republicans pursued their effort to defund, and now to delay, Obamacare so relentlessly, even though they have almost zero chance of success in the face of a rapidly-approaching deadline for shutting down the government?

Discussion: Power Line and Talking Points Memo

Lisa Desjardins / CNN:

GOP adds ‘conscience clause’ to spending bill — Washington (CNN) - House Republicans have added a measure aimed at limiting contraceptive coverage to the spending bill coming up for a vote Saturday night, a spokesman for Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kansas, told CNN. — A senior House leadership aide confirmed that development.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Hinterland Gazette, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit, Pat Dollard, Right Wing News, The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Little Green Footballs, Firedoglake, Outside the Beltway, Balloon Juice, Talking Points Memo, The Right Scoop and The Raw Story

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

McCarthy: ‘We are not shutting the government down’ — House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy said Sunday that several options are on the table for House GOP leaders if the Senate tosses the government funding bill back to the chamber without two anti-Obamacare changes approved by the House.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon and The Hill

Washington Post:

The House GOP's shutdown plan is great news — House Republicans plan to attach a one-year delay of Obamacare to the continuing resolution. That sharply increases the chances of a government shutdown beginning Monday night. — Good. — Speaker Boehner's original plan was to pass …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

David Frum / david-frum:

Here Comes the Shutdown: Three Reasons It Will Hurt the GOP — Uh oh! A House plan to delay Obamacare has put the government on the brink of a shutdown—for real this time. David Frum on why the infighting is sure to backfire on the Republicans. — The federal government swerved toward …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, The Hinterland Gazette and The Moderate Voice

Robert Costa / National Review:

House GOP Mulls CR with Vitter Amendment — House GOP insiders acknowledge a shutdown is increasingly likely, due to House conservatives' aversion to passing a “clean” continuing resolution that simply funds the government. But the leadership isn't ready to concede defeat, and …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Yahoo! News, NationalJournal.com, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's … and Hit & Run

Ashley Killough / CNN:

House Republican: Senate is ‘playing games’ — Washington (CNN) - A high-ranking House Republican blasted Majority Leader Harry Reid for not calling the Senate back to Capitol Hill on Sunday as the government teeters on the edge of a possible shutdown. — The Republican-controlled House …

Discussion: Politico, The Heritage Foundation and Hot Air

Julian Pecquet / The Hill:
GOP leader asks: Where's the Senate?

Discussion: Politico

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
House sends stopgap back to Senate 48 hours before shutdown (Video)

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Scared Monkeys, Politico, Real Clear Politics, NPR, The Lonely Conservative and New York Times

Tamara Keith / NPR:
House Ties Government Funding To One-Year Obamacare Delay

Discussion: The Raw Story and PoliticusUSA

Judd Legum / ThinkProgress:
GOP Congressman Compares Republicans Trying To Take Down Obamacare To Heroes Of 9/11

Discussion: Juanita Jean's, The Hinterland Gazette, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Moderate Voice, Crooks and Liars, CNN and Mediaite

Austin Wright / Reuters:
House GOP moves to protect military pay in a shutdown

Discussion: Politico and Talking Points Memo

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
House pushes U.S. to the edge of a shutdown

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Wonkblog, The PJ Tatler, National Review, New York Times, Power Line, Taegan Goddard's … and msnbc.com

New York Times:

Children and Guns: The Hidden Toll — The .45-caliber pistol that killed Lucas Heagren, 3, on Memorial Day last year at his Ohio home had been temporarily hidden under the couch by his father. But Lucas found it and shot himself through the right eye. “It's bad,” his mother told the 911 dispatcher.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Mahablog

Benjamin Bell / ABC News:

Five Things Former President Clinton Took Away From the 2008 President Election — During an interview with ABC News, former President Bill Clinton was asked by “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos about the biggest lesson he learned from the 2008 presidential campaign, in which his wife …

Reuters:

As government shutdown looms, Obamacare exchanges still set for launch — It's looking more and more like Tuesday will be a split-screen day: The government will shut down, and Obamacare will open for business. — That's going to annoy a lot of Republicans —because the ones who are pushing …

Discussion: Taylor Marsh

Kevin Bogardus / The Hill:

Federal workers demanding back pay if government closes — Federal worker unions are lobbying lawmakers for back pay in the event of a government shutdown. — They say government employees have suffered enough under the cutbacks from sequestration, and are putting pressure on President Obama …

Megan McArdle / Bloomberg:

11 Pieces of Obamacare Conventional Wisdom That Shouldn't Be So Conventional — As we approach the Great Unveiling next week, you're going to see a lot of these talking points repeated as if they're facts. Most of them aren't dead wrong — they could be true.