memeorandum: Government Heads Toward Shutdown (Wall Street Journal)

1:45 PM ET, September 30, 2013

Top Items:

Paul Steinhauser / CNN:

Key players in the shutdown debate — Washington (CNN) — If the federal government shuts down starting Tuesday because of a bitter partisan battle over the new health care law, more people say congressional Republicans rather than President Barack Obama would be responsible, according to a new national survey.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress, Talking Points Memo, Salt Lake Tribune, Press & Sun-Bulletin, PolicyMic, Hot Air, Hit & Run, Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Business Insider, The Hill, Washington Times, Post Politics and WJLA-TV

Bloomberg:

Republicans' Shutdown Fight Exposes Simmering Civil War — The Republican war with President Barack Obama over funding the government and the new health-care law will play out in the coming days and months. The conflict now exposed within the party may shape its future for years.

Discussion: CANNONFIRE and Taylor Marsh

Robert Costa / National Review:

The Speaker's Slog — There were no tears, just cheers, when Speaker John Boehner announced his latest fiscal strategy on Saturday at a closed-door conference meeting. Even Boehner's longtime critics praised him for pushing a government-spending bill that also delayed Obamacare for one year and repealed the medical-device tax.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Dish, The Hill, The Plum Line, Taegan Goddard's … and The Raw Story

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

The Associated Press Goes to Bat For the Democratic Party — Why do Republicans never seem to come out ahead politically when they go toe-to-toe with the Democrats? Part of the reason, at least, is that the press, to a greater extent than at any time in our history, is monolithically Democrat.

Discussion: Associated Press, The Strata-Sphere, The Lonely Conservative and Prairie Weather

New York Times:

Senate Action on Health Law Moves to Brink of Shutdown — WASHINGTON — The Senate is expected to reject decisively a House bill that would delay the full effect of President Obama's health care law as a condition for keeping the government running past Monday, as Senator Harry Reid …

Discussion: The New Republic, The Plum Line, ABC News, The Week, The World's Greatest …, Business Insider, msnbc.com, First Read, Balloon Juice, The Reaction, The Other McCain, American Spectator, The Hugh Hewitt Show, The Blotter, NBCNews, Politico, Power Line and Washington Post

Politico:

Government shutdown: House GOP leaders huddle — House Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team will meet twice Monday morning, as House Republicans mull how - and if - they will avoid a government shutdown. — The Senate is expected to reject House-passed legislation that would keep …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Holly Yan / CNN:
Government shutdown: What you need to know

Discussion: Firedoglake, PolicyMic, Guardian, Global Public Square, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post and Shakesville

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Republican Senator Denounces House GOP's Obamacare Strategy

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Booman Tribune

Wall Street Journal:
Government Heads Toward Shutdown

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Democratic Policy & …, Daily Kos, Daily Record, Washington Wire, Speaker.gov and david-frum

Politico:
Senate slated to table House bill

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
POLL: Voters Are ‘Unmoved’ By Government Shutdown Drama, Still Don't Want To Delay Obamacare

Discussion: Forbes, Taegan Goddard's … and ThinkProgress

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Republicans toss insults at Harry Reid

Discussion: protein wisdom, BizPac Review, Pirate's Cove, Daily Kos, The Hill, The Hill and CNN

John Dickerson / Slate:
What Will Boehner Do? — The ball is in his court.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Week, The Mahablog, The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner

Charles Ferguson / The Huffington Post:

Why I Am Cancelling My Documentary on Hillary Clinton — In late 2012, CNN Films approached me about directing a documentary. We discussed a number of potential subjects, and eventually settled on Hillary Rodham Clinton. The film would be ambitious, controversial, and highly visible.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Firedoglake, Yahoo! News, Variety, ABC News, The PJ Tatler, Gawker, BizPac Review, The Week, Talking Points Memo, BBC, Althouse, Hot Air, Post Politics, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller and TheBlaze.com

Dylan Byers / Politico:

CNN Films cancels Hillary Clinton doc, director cites pressure from Clinton aides — CNN Films has decided to cancel its highly anticipated documentary about Hillary Clinton after director Charles H. Ferguson backed away from the project on Monday, citing a lack of participants due to pressure from Clinton-world.

Discussion: Deadline.com, Talking Points Memo, National Review and The Right Scoop

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:
CNN cuts Clinton film after director quits

Discussion: Pat Dollard

Brian Beutler / Salon:

Right-wing extremists “are guilty of murder,” Sen. Angus King tells Salon — In an interview with Salon, Independent senator unloads on conservatives who urge young people to remain uninsured — Tuesday begins a 6-month race to enroll as many uninsured people as possible in the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, National Review and The PJ Tatler

Gallup:

Two in Three Uninsured Americans Plan to Buy Insurance — Less than half say they will use the state or federal exchanges — PRINCETON, NJ — Nearly two in three uninsured Americans say they will get insurance by Jan. 1, 2014, rather than pay a fine as mandated by the Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, Politico and Talking Points Memo

New York Times:

Qaeda Plot Leak Has Undermined U.S. Intelligence — WASHINGTON — As the nation's spy agencies assess the fallout from disclosures about their surveillance programs, some government analysts and senior officials have made a startling finding: the impact of a leaked terrorist plot by Al Qaeda …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, The Jawa Report, emptywheel, NPR, Hot Air, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, americanthinker.com, Prairie Weather and VodkaPundit

Bill Keller / New York Times:

The Right Gets Its '60s — “Something's happening here. — What it is ain't exactly clear. The right-wing campaign to sabotage the Affordable Care Act has driven a lot of normally temperate people past the edge of exasperation. Pundits have described the crusade as crazy, stupid …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hullabaloo, The Raw Story, The Mahablog and alicublog

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

Rebels Without a Clue — This may be the way the world ends — not with a bang but with a temper tantrum. — O.K., a temporary government shutdown — which became almost inevitable after Sunday's House vote to provide government funding only on unacceptable conditions — wouldn't be the end of the world.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Zachary A. Goldfarb / Washington Post:
Danger to economy worries experts weighing potential government shutdown, default

Discussion: ThinkProgress and DealBook

Eric Garland / The Hill:

GOP Rep. Pompeo: I'll try to enroll in ObamaCare exchange — Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), an opponent of ObamaCare, said he will try to sign up for the healthcare exchange when it opens Tuesday. — “I'm going to try to enroll tomorrow morning, October 1,” Pompeo vowed.

Discussion: Politico

Cecile Richards / Politico:
The House's war on women

Discussion: LifeNews.com and ABC News

ABC News:
Shutdown Showdown: Gridlock Over Obamacare as Deadline Looms

Discussion: CNN, Politico and ABC News

Roger Simon / Politico:

The frauds on the Hill target Obama — Who are these people? Of what are they made that they can say and do such things on the floor of Congress? — No nonsense is too great, no act too low. — House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) leaves the floor of the House in the wee hours of Sunday morning …

Discussion: AMERICAblog News

Jon Favreau / The Daily Beast:

House Republican Hostage-Takers Are Unfit to Govern — They're threatening an economic shutdown that will cause financial hardship and even ruin for millions of Americans. So let's call these House Republicans what they are, says Jon Favreau. — The most terrifying speech I ever wrote for President Obama was one he never gave.

Discussion: VodkaPundit

Rajeev Syal / Guardian:

Global warming can have a positive side, says Owen Paterson — Secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, says global warming could allow food to be grown further north — The cabinet minister responsible for fighting the effects of climate change claimed there would be advantages …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Power Line

Michael Bastasch / The Daily Caller:
Top MIT scientist: Newest UN climate report is ‘hilariously’ flawed

Discussion: Telegraph, americanthinker.com and Blazing Cat Fur

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Spencer Bachus, dean of Alabama delegation, retiring — Alabama GOP Rep. Spencer Bachus announced on Monday that he would not seek reelection in 2014. Bachus, the dean of the state's House delegation and a former chairman of the Financial Services Committee, was first elected in 1992.

Discussion: CNN