memeorandum: Disgraced EPA official pleads the Fifth in House investigation (Julian Hattem/E2-Wire)

4:25 PM ET, October 1, 2013

Top Items:

John Bresnahan / Politico:

Government shutdown: John Boehner's private fight for Hill health subsidies — With the federal government nearing shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner stood on the House floor Monday and called on his colleagues to vote for a bill banning a “so-called exemption” that lawmakers and staffers receive for their health insurance.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Daily Caller, Daily Kos, Mediaite, National Review, Booman Tribune and Roll Call

Meredith Shiner / The World's Greatest …:

Democrats Divulge Emails With Boehner Staff as Shutdown Fight Gets Personal (Updated) — Reid's office is considering leaking emails between his chief of staff, David Krone, above, and Boehner's chief. (CQ Roll Call File Photo) — Updated 11:30 a.m. | Senate Democrats are considering leaking …

Discussion: Defense One, No More Mister Nice Blog, Daily Kos, Roll Call, The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo and Politico

Rebecca Leber / ThinkProgress:

Six Headlines About The Government Shutdown That Will Destroy Your Faith In Journalism — The government shut down because a small group of Republicans, led by Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), insist on linking continued funding to repealing, defunding, or delaying Obamacare.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Huffington Post, The Daily Banter, Center for American Progress, Daily Kos, CNN, Salt Lake Tribune and PolicyMic

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

‘House Of Turds’: NY Daily News Mocks Boehner As Shutdown Arrives (PHOTO) — A prominent New York City tabloid marked the first government shutdown since 1996 on Tuesday with a cover that parodies a hit political drama and mocks House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Mediaite, Balloon Juice and The Hinterland Gazette

Nick Gillespie / Reason:

Let Us Be Clear: Obama Deserves Chief Responsibility for Gov't Shutdown. — Boehner and the GOP may well be “anarchists” and Reid and the Dems may be useless. But it's the president who runs the show. — Whether it turns truly apocalyptic or ends up just being a short break …

Discussion: NPR, Outside the Beltway and Hit & Run

Fox News:

Congressional stalemate rings in government slimdown — What the Obama administration is portraying as a “shutdown” of the federal government — complete with signs posted at the entrances to government buildings, parks and monuments — is turning out to be more of a “slimdown,” …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite and The Week

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
THE DEMOCRATS ARE BRINGING GUNS TO A GUNFIGHT

Discussion: The Mahablog and No More Mister Nice Blog

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Durbin: Medical device tax repeal could be ‘on the table’

Discussion: Firedoglake, PoliticusUSA, The PJ Tatler, Politico, ABC News, Daily Kos and Red Alert Politics

Politico:
House GOP to vote on narrow funding bills

Discussion: CNN, The Plum Line, Firedoglake and The Reaction

Manu Raju / Politico:
GOP braces for shutdown fallout

Discussion: CNN and The Hill

Jennifer Epstein / Politico:
Obama notes health care glitches, blasts ‘Republican shutdown’

Discussion: Colorlines

Politico:
Government shutdown: President Obama holds the line

Discussion: americanthinker.com and The Hill

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
Why This Is Not Just ‘Washington Breakdown,’ in 3 Graphs (and 1 Story)

Discussion: The Dish, Shakesville, Connecting.the.Dots, Taylor Marsh, The Frying Pan and The Moderate Voice

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
In Congress, a not-so-brief case of delusion over government shutdown

Discussion: The Mahablog, Balloon Juice and The Raw Story

Joe Nocera / New York Times:
Those Banana Republicans

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, PolicyMic, CANNONFIRE, Booman Tribune, Hullabaloo, National Review, Daily Kos, The Verge, The Daily Banter and The Hinterland Gazette

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
The House GOP's Legislative Strike

Discussion: New York Times, Post Politics, Associated Press, Hullabaloo, DownWithTyranny!, Truthout Stories, The Daily Banter and Prairie Weather

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Politico: Obama Shows ‘Resolve and Strength’ By Shutting Government

Discussion: Hot Air

Catalina Camia / Associated Press:
Polls: Americans put more blame on GOP for shutdown

Discussion: Economix, Mediaite, Right Wing Watch, Yahoo! News, Naked Politics, CNN, ABC News, his vorpal sword and msnbc.com

Elise Viebeck / The Hill:

Technical problems plague launch of ObamaCare (Video) — ObamaCare's new health insurance marketplaces experienced a range of technical glitches Tuesday morning as they opened to enroll patients for the first time. — The federally facilitated online exchanges include functions for creating an account …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The CT Mirror, Weekly Standard, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, National Republican …, Reuters, Talking Points Memo and The PJ Tatler

TIME:
Obamacare Exchanges Riddled With Glitches

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, msnbc.com, New York Times, CBS New York and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire

Washington Post:
Obamacare site goes live, with some glitches

Discussion: NBCNews, WND, PJ Media, Guardian, Forbes, Questions and Observations and Pat Dollard

Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
Sebelius: “Give Us the Same Slack You Give Apple”

Discussion: Firedoglake, Via Meadia and Unfair Park

Louise Radnofsky / Washington Wire:
Sebelius: Obamacare, It's Like an iPhone

Discussion: National Review, The PJ Tatler, Hit & Run and National Republican …

CNN:

Veterans break past World War II Memorial barricade — Update 1:45 p.m. ET: House GOP leadership sources tell CNN they plan to vote on a series of bills to fund the government, beginning Tuesday with three measures-spending for veterans, the District of Columbia and the Park Service.

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, ThinkProgress, Taylor Marsh, Gawker and Connecting.the.Dots

Leo Shane III / Stars & Stripes:

WWII veterans storm D.C. memorial closed by government shutdown — WASHINGTON — Wheelchair-bound elderly veterans pushed aside barricades to tour the World War II Memorial Tuesday morning, in defiance of the government shutdown which closed all of the memorials in the nation's capital.

Discussion: Washington Post, ThinkProgress, msnbc.com and WJLA-TV

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:

KKK Rally At Gettysburg Military Park Canceled Due To Gov't Shutdown — A planned Ku Klux Klan gathering in Gettysburg, Pa. was canceled due to the government shutdown, Philadelphia's WCAU reported Tuesday. — A Maryland-based KKK group was approved to hold a rally on Saturday at Gettysburg National Military Park, according to WCAU.

Discussion: Philadelphia News …, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Fox News, The Huffington Post and The Raw Story

Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:
Witness: Mississippi Congressman ‘Opened The Barricade’ To Closed WWII Memorial

Discussion: The Raw Story

Charlie Spiering / Washington Examiner:

The glitchy error-filled misadventures of creating an account on healthcare.gov — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN — A friend and I spent the morning trying unsuccessfully to create an account on healthcare.gov and shop for cheaper health insurance.

Discussion: Americans for Tax Reform …, Rush Limbaugh, National Republican … and Weasel Zippers

Misstripleem / Twitchy:

Surprise! Obamacare health insurance exchange websites don't work; HealthCare.gov a total mess — No need to shut it down. The Obamacare health insurance exchange websites don't work. … Who will be blamed for this mess? … [Update] — Welcome to HealthCare.gov!

Discussion: New York Times, Outside the Beltway, The Lonely Conservative, National Review, Althouse, NewsBusters and Pirate's Cove

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Poll Indicates GOP Has Been Deeply Damaged By Shutdown Fight — Republicans in Washington insist they have simply been upholding the wishes of the American people throughout their efforts to block the Affordable Care Act, but a poll released Tuesday tells a very different story.

Discussion: TIME, Taegan Goddard's …, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Politico, The Moderate Voice and Democracy in America

CNN:
Sen. Durbin: “It's conceivable” …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo and National Review

CNN:
CNN Poll: Will Obamacare help you?

Discussion: The Week, The Hill, Politico, The Other McCain, Weasel Zippers and The Right Scoop

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:

Rand Paul: Open the government — Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday said he would support a short-term funding measure “to keep the government open while we negotiate.” — “I think what we could do is pass a very short term, maybe not six weeks, but what about one week, so we could negotiate over a week …

Discussion: Hot Air, The Right Scoop and National Review

Charlie Cook / NationalJournal.com:
Ted Cruz May Be Unwittingly Boosting Rand Paul's Brand

Discussion: Politico and Conservatives4Palin

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

Jon Stewart's Rockin' Shutdown Eve — If President Obama can make a deal with the most intransigent mullahs in the world but not with House Republicans, maybe he is not the problem. (07:20)

Discussion: The Daily Banter, Talking Points Memo, Business Insider, Towleroad News #gay and Mediaite

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

The Beginning of the End for Washington — This impasse could be the breaking point for a political system that has gone from dysfunctional to nonfunctioning. — U.S. President Barack Obama signs H.R. 3210, Pay Our Military Act, which provides continuing appropriations for members of the Armed Forces during the government shutdown.