memeorandum: GOP finds its shutdown message (Cameron Joseph/The Hill)

11:35 AM ET, October 5, 2013

Top Items:

Boehner Urges G.O.P. Unity in ‘Epic Battle’ — WASHINGTON — With his troops anxious for a way forward, Speaker John A. Boehner began a closed-door meeting of House Republicans on Friday morning with a recitation of letters from local schoolchildren on how they deal with stress.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Taegan Goddard's …, Gawker, PoliticusUSA, Prairie Weather, Liberaland and The Monkey Cage

Cameron Joseph / The Hill:

GOP finds its shutdown message — Republicans are seeking to paint Democrats as the “party of no” to help dig themselves out of a hole on the government shutdown. — The effort is aimed at softening the political blow of the shutdown while buying Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) time to figure out an end game.

Discussion: Prairie Weather and New York Times

David Weigel / Slate:

How Democrats Got a Spine — The Republican Party taught them how to be uncompromising. — It's easy to forget, but this year began with a nick-of-time congressional compromise. At the 11th hour, with Washington's supply of clichés nearly depleted, the House and Senate approved a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, The Mahablog, Daily Kos and No More Mister Nice Blog

Julie Pace / Associated Press:

OBAMA TO PUBLIC: DON'T GIVE UP ON HEALTH SIGN-UPS — WASHINGTON (AP) — Defending the shaky rollout of his health care law, President Barack Obama said frustrated Americans “definitely shouldn't give up” on the problem-plagued program now at the heart of his dispute with Republicans over reopening the federal government.

Discussion: Post Politics and Taegan Goddard's …

Associated Press:

Parties Race to Use Shutdown for 2014 Leverage — Republicans and Democrats have wasted little time trying to use the first federal government shutdown in a generation for political advantage ahead of next year's midterm elections, seizing on the plight of furloughed workers …

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN and Politico

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Dems plan discharge petition to force vote on ending shutdown

Discussion: Liberaland

Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg:
How to Make a Non-Disastrous Debt-Limit Deal

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Fix the Debt, The Dish, National Review, Townhall.com and Hot Air

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:

Devil's Xmas Tree Lite — So long as House Republicans maintain the initiative in the current fiscal fight, we're all living in Robert Costa's world. His latest missive from Boehnerland (entitled “The Emerging Offer") suggests that the Speaker and such helpmeets as Paul Ryan are already far advanced …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Robert Costa / National Review:
The Emerging Offer

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, The Onion, Hot Air, The Fix, Washington Post, The Reality-Based Community, Business Insider, The World's Greatest …, Wonkblog, Reuters, Taegan Goddard's … and Liberal Values

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Dems move to force Republicans to reopen the government

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Roll Call, Slate, Hot Air, A plain blog about politics, Campaign for America's Future, PoliticusUSA, Daily Kos and The Monkey Cage

Pema Levy / Newsweek:

THE WOMAN WHO KNOWS THE NSA'S SECRETS — Trawling for needles in the data haystack

Discussion: emptywheel, more at Mediagazer »

Marc A. Thiessen / Washington Post:

The Seinfeld shutdown — Quick: What do Republicans want in exchange for ending the government shutdown? If you know the answer, congratulations — because Republicans sure don't. — When this saga began, it was about defunding Obamacare. House Republicans passed legislation to keep …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and Ed Driscoll

Igor Bobic / Talking Points Memo:
Cruz: GOP Already Compromised By Demanding To Defund, Not Repeal Obamacare

Discussion: Politico and Hullabaloo

Thomas Mann / CNN: GOP House can't claim to speak for America

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:

Priests threatened with arrest if they minister to military during shutdown — In a stunning development, some military priests are facing arrest if they celebrate mass or practice their faith on military bases during the federal government shutdown. — “With the government shutdown …

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, The Gateway Pundit, americanthinker.com and The PJ Tatler

John Schlageter / milarch.org:
Shutdown Impacts Chapel Services

Discussion: Ed Driscoll, Independent Journal Review, Weasel Zippers and National Review

New York Times:

Pent-Up Demand for Health Insurance — There were plenty of computer glitches when millions of Americans went online to check out their options for affordable insurance policies on the new health care exchanges that opened for business this week. It was frustrating, but it was also an indication …

Discussion: Prairie Weather

Reuters:

Swiss to vote on 2,500 franc basic income for every adult — (Reuters) - Switzerland will hold a vote on whether to introduce a basic income for all adults, in a further sign of growing public activism over pay inequality since the financial crisis. — A grassroots committee is calling …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

EIA:

U.S. expected to be largest producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2013 — The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the United States will be the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2013, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Discussion: E2-Wire, EcoWatch, The Daily Caller and The Raw Story

Mila Mimica / nbcwashington.com:

Man Found With Burns on Nat'l Mall in Critical Condition — The man may have set himself on fire, police said. — Park Police officials tell NBC Washington a man may have set himself on fire at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Friday afternoon. — The incident was reported around 4:30 p.m …

Discussion: NBCNews, The Gateway Pundit and The Raw Story

Matt Fuller / Roll Call:

Democrats Plan to Discharge GOP Bill to End Shutdown (Updated) — Miller, right, is heading up a Democratic plan to end the government shutdown by bringing up a GOP measure through a discharge petition. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call) — Updated: 3:13 p.m. |

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and voteview blog

Politico:
Democrats tap procedural trick to force House CR vote

Discussion: protein wisdom

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
House Democrats Propose Hail Mary Strategy For Ending Shutdown

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Eschaton

Wynton Hall / BREITBART.COM:

OBAMACARE FACEBOOK ERUPTS WITH CITIZEN STICKER SHOCK — On Thursday, the government's official Obamacare Facebook page was riddled with people expressing sticker shock over the government's high cost premiums after struggling for hours to wade through the technical failures vexing Obamacare exchanges all across the country.

Discussion: americanthinker.com, The Gateway Pundit and Hot Air

Lauren McGaughy / New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Angola 3 member Herman Wallace died quietly in his sleep, friends say — New Orleans native, former Black Panther and member of the Angola Three Herman Wallace died Thursday night because of complications from liver cancer, friends and counsel confirmed Friday morning.

Discussion: New York Times, The Lede, ThinkProgress and NPR