Top Items:
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Grover Norquist on Ted Cruz: ‘He pushed House Republicans into traffic and wandered away’ — Grover Norquist is the president of Americans for Tax Reform and the creator of the anti-tax pledge that nearly every Republican in Congress has signed. We spoke on Tuesday about the government shutdown and its consequences for his agenda.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Trail Blazers Blog and The Raw Story
RELATED:
Robert Costa / National Review:
Holding Firm — The same question keeps popping up: why doesn't Speaker John Boehner just pass a “clean” continuing resolution to fund the government? It's a ubiquitous query at the Capitol, and it was asked many times this afternoon as House Republicans left their closed-door conference meeting.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Plum Line, Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Hot Air, Pat Dollard, Balloon Juice, The Week, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Weasel Zippers, The Reality-Based Community, Daily Kos, Wonkblog, The Dish, DownWithTyranny!, Roll Call, First Read, USA Today and Weekly Standard
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Reid offers to talk tax reform if GOP ends shutdown (Video) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) offered to open negotiations on tax reform Wednesday if Republicans agree to a clean resolution to reopen the government. — Reid sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) …
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Why the Shutdown Is Leading to Debt Default; or, What Happens When You Take Hostages Without a Plan — The federal government shutdown, while important, is a dry run for the potentially cataclysmic debt-ceiling standoff. What does it portend? Evidence can be found for both alarm and complacency …
Discussion:
The Week, Taegan Goddard's … and Balloon Juice
Speaker.gov:
President Obama Turns His Back on Veterans — The White House and congressional Democrats aren't satisfied with simply shutting the government down. Today the president reiterated his threat to veto a simple, common-sense measure to stand with our nation's veterans and ensure that veterans' programs are funded during the shutdown.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, PoliticusUSA, The Hinterland Gazette, The Right Scoop, his vorpal sword and Defense One
Debbi Wilgoren / Washington Post:
‘Exasperated’ Obama tells congressional leaders he ‘will not negotiate’
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Times, Voices and The Fix
Patrick Poole / The PJ Tatler:
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: McDonald's Employee Admits Being Paid $15 to Protest WW2 Veterans (UPDATED) — Yesterday I reported from the National World War Two Memorial on several members of Congress crashing the barricades set up by the National Park Service that were keeping out several hundred Honor Flight veterans …
Discussion:
Power Line, The Jawa Report and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Paul Bedard / Washington Examiner:
Shutdown overreach: More guards at WWII memorial than Benghazi; Park Service closes park it doesn't run — WASHINGTON SECRETS BENGHAZI GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN — The National Park Service is sending so many officials out to shut down federal parks from visiting Americans that at this rate …
Jillian Rogers / GOP.com:
RNC Will Pay To Keep WWII Memorial Open
Discussion:
Washington Times, TheBlaze.com, National Review and The PJ Tatler
ABC News:
World War II Veterans Prove Unstoppable, Entering Memorial
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Politico, Daily Herald, Guardian, National Review and Stars & Stripes, more at Mediagazer »
Leo Shane III / Stars & Stripes:
Park service: Honor Flight visits are a ‘First Amendment activity’
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
John Harwood / CNBC:
Obama to Wall Street: This time be worried — Obama to Wall Street: You should be concerned this time — In an exclusive interview with CNBC's John Harwood, President Obama says Wall Street should be concerned about the ongoing impasse between him and House Republicans over funding the government and the debt limit.
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …, Outside the Beltway, NPR, Daily Kos and The PJ Tatler
RELATED:
Telegraph:
US government shutdown: Barack Obama looks like a bitter, petty and partisan president — The American Left's hatred for all things conservative has been on full display in Washington in recent days, with the White House and its allies in Congress heaving with anger and indignation …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Wall Street Journal, CANNONFIRE, Questions and Observations, Washington Post, VodkaPundit and Post Politics
Michael Hiltzik / Los Angeles Times:
The truth is, Americans love Obamacare — Among the many delusions guiding the Republican campaign against the Affordable Care Act, surely the most consistent is the idea that the public detests the law and is clamoring for repeal. — Here's the truth: The American public loves Obamacare …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, Shakesville and Guardian
RELATED:
Paul Waldman / American Prospect:
What Happens to Conservatism When the Obamacare War Is Over?
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Rebecca Catalanello / New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Obamacare website glitches leave Blue Cross of Louisiana without new enrollees after first day
Discussion:
National Review, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Wonkblog and Twitchy
Washington Free Beacon:
Reid: ‘Why Would We Want To’ Help One Kid With Cancer? — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) asked why Senate Democrats would want to fund the National Institutes of Health to “help one child who has cancer” Wednesday when asked that question by CNN reporter Dana Bash.
Jay Z / Vanity Fair:
Exclusive: Mia Farrow and Eight of Her Children Speak Out on Their Lives, Frank Sinatra, and the Scandals They've Endured — See a slide show of Mia's children and quotes from Orth's piece. — Twenty years after Vanity Fair special correspondent Maureen Orth reported on the sexual-abuse …
Discussion:
FishbowlDC, Mediaite, ABC News, DCist, The Daily Caller, Guardian, Gawker and Althouse
Matthew Yglesias / Slate:
Juan Linz's Bad News for America — The Yale political scientist died this week. His life's work tells us that American democracy is doomed. — Juan Linz, the distinguished Yale political scientist, died on Tuesday morning in New Haven, Conn., at the age of 86.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
RELATED:
Dylan Matthews / Wonkblog:
The shutdown is the Constitution's fault
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, National Review and protein wisdom
Julie Bosman / New York Times:
Tom Clancy, Best-Selling Novelist of Military Thrillers, Dies at 66 — Tom Clancy, whose complex, adrenaline-fueled military novels made him one of the world's best-selling and best-known authors, died on Tuesday in a hospital in Baltimore. He was 66. — Ivan Held, the president …
Discussion:
USA Today, Pat Dollard, Outside the Beltway, Gawker, ProfessorBainbridge.com and Taylor Marsh
RELATED:
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Why Are So Many People in a Blind Rage These Days? — Paul Waldman, as he so often does, says what I've been thinking: … Roger that. But then he adds this: … This is conventional wisdom, of course. The reason the tea party caucus isn't willing to compromise is because there's no pressure on them to compromise.
Discussion:
Liberal Values, Eschaton and American Prospect
Justin Sink / The Hill:
President praises pope — President Obama said Wednesday he had been “hugely impressed” by Pope Francis after being asked about the new pontiff's comments that issues of homosexuality and abortion had consumed too much of the church's attention. — The president said that his admiration came …
Discussion:
Politico, CNN and LifeNews.com
Brendan Sasso / The Hill:
Cruz warns shutdown could lead to terrorist attacks — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) warned on Wednesday that the government shutdown could leave the United States vulnerable to terrorist attacks. — “If, God forbid, we see an attack on the United States because the intelligence community …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Bank CEOs huddle with Obama — Top banking executives emerged from a meeting with President Obama on Wednesday warning of the “extremely adverse” consequences of a national default. — Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said there is broad agreement in the banking industry that the debt ceiling …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly and Politico
Sam Baker / The Hill:
HHS: 4.7 million visits to ObamaCare site on Day 1 — The primary website for ObamaCare enrollment hit 4.7 million visitors in its first 24 hours, the Health and Human Services Department said Wednesday. — The site, healthcare.gov, was still functioning slowly Wednesday …
Discussion:
Alan Colmes' Liberaland
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