memeorandum: Republicans, Over the Cliff — Peter Suderman speaks for me: (Rod Dreher/The American Conservative)

1:55 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: Talking Points Memo, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, 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: Esquire, The Plum Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, Roll Call, Talking Points Memo and Politico

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

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, Associated Press, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Right Wing Watch and Center for American Progress

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

Why This Is Not Just ‘Washington Breakdown,’ in 3 Graphs (and 1 Story) — Tea Party members say they are expressing the public's will. Gee, if only there were some way to judge popular sentiment in a democracy. — From the Washington Post this morning:

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

Ashley Killough / CNN:

Durbin: Medical device tax repeal could be ‘on the table’ — Washington (CNN) - A repeal of the medical device tax may be a point of compromise between the House and Senate as the two houses of Congress work to end the government shutdown, the number two Democrat in the Senate said Tuesday.

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

Manu Raju / Politico:

GOP braces for shutdown fallout — House and Senate Republicans are still spooked by the ghosts of shutdown past, with many fearing a brutal political fallout that could threaten their party in the run-up to the 2014 midterms. — Despite a firm belief that the public is on their side …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill and Outside the Beltway

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

The House GOP's Legislative Strike — In January, demoralized House Republicans retreated to Williamsburg, Virginia, to plot out their legislative strategy for President Obama's second term. Conservatives were angry that their leaders had been unable to stop the expiration of the Bush tax cuts …

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

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

In Congress, a not-so-brief case of delusion over government shutdown — I almost shut down the government. — As I waited outside a meeting of the House Republican caucus in the Capitol basement Monday afternoon, I put down my briefcase next to a flowerpot and walked around the corner to catch lawmakers as they exited.

Discussion: The Mahablog, Balloon Juice and The Raw Story

Politico:
Government shutdown: President Obama holds the line

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Hot Air

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

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

Joe Nocera / New York Times:
Those Banana Republicans

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

Nick Gillespie / Reason:
Let Us Be Clear: Obama Deserves Chief Responsibility for Gov't Shutdown.

Discussion: NPR, Outside the Beltway and Hit & Run

Wall Street Journal:
Lawmakers Resume Budget Battle Amid Shutdown

Discussion: Washington Wire

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House GOP seeks conference with Senate Dems on shutdown

Discussion: CNN, Politico, The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, americanthinker.com, The Reaction and New York Times

Ashley Parker / New York Times:
Conservatives With a Cause: 'We're Right'

Discussion: Politico, The Hairpin, WJLA-TV and Wall Street Journal

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
House Dems hitting House GOP with robocalls on shutdown

Discussion: The Reaction

Byron York / Washington Examiner:
How 30 House Republicans are forcing the Obamacare fight

Discussion: American Prospect, NationalJournal.com, The Atlantic Online, The Huffington Post, National Review, The Week, Slate, Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire, msnbc.com, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Washington Free Beacon, Red Alert Politics, ThinkProgress, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's … and The Hill

CNN:

CNN Poll: Will Obamacare help you? — Less than one in five Americans say their families will be better off under the new health care law, according to a new poll. — But a CNN/ORC International survey released Tuesday morning also indicates a majority say the Affordable Care Act …

Discussion: The Other McCain and Weasel Zippers

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Poll Indicates GOP Has Been Deeply Damaged By Shutdown Fight

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, Politico, Democracy in America and PoliticusUSA

Noam N. Levey / Los Angeles Times:
Full steam ahead for Obama healthcare law

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Rebecca Shabad / The Hill:
Less than one in five say ObamaCare will help

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Jennifer Corbett Dooren / Washington Wire:
Some State Exchanges Delayed Until Afternoon

Discussion: Wonkblog, Hit & Run and Washington Free Beacon

Mackenzie Weinger / Politico:
President Obama: Expect months of ‘glitches’

Discussion: Pirate's Cove

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: Outside the Beltway, New York Times, NewsBusters, National Review, The Lonely Conservative and Althouse

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: Weasel Zippers and National Republican …

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: Slate, Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The CT Mirror, Talking Points Memo, National Republican … and Reuters

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, National Review and The Right Scoop

Rod Dreher / The American Conservative:
Republicans, Over the Cliff — Peter Suderman speaks for me:

Discussion: Hit & Run and The Dish

CNN:

Veterans break past World War II Memorial barricade — Washington (CNN) - Busloads of World War II veterans, many in wheelchairs, broke past a barricade Tuesday to cross into the World War II Memorial, as onlookers applauded and a man playing the bagpipes led the way.

Discussion: ABC News

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

Discussion: The Raw Story

Tal Kopan / Politico:

‘Boss’ Chris Christie: How I'd solve it — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says the shutdown in Washington can be blamed on everybody, but it is especially a failure of leadership on the part of the president. — “No matter where the partisanship is, the failure is in people not bringing people together to get it done.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Hot Air and The Hill

Andrew Rafferty / NBC Politics:
Christie says shutdown debate would look very different if he was in charge

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and susiemadrak.com

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, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, Towleroad News #gay and Mediaite

Steven Lubet / Salon:

GOP's most shameful shutdown moment — There are many candidates, but comparing Obamacare to the Fugitive Slave Act reveals much — and may take the prize — Republicans in the House of Representatives have shut down the United States government - and are threatening to throw the nation into default …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Alan Colmes' Liberaland