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Senate Dems to call GOP's bluff on debt limit — Senate Democrats are planning to start the process this week for a Senate vote on a clean debt limit increase, sources tell me - a move that could call the bluff of Republicans in both chambers and force them to take a stand on whether …
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Business Insider, National Review, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos, Campaign for America's Future and ABC News
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Conservatives Wary of Deal — Speaker John Boehner may be trying to finalize a plan to raise the debt limit, but House conservatives are already skeptical of his efforts. In interviews, several of them tell me they're unlikely to support any deal that may emerge.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, Hullabaloo and Business Insider


White House: Obama Will Never Negotiate On The Debt Limit Again — White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday that lifting the debt ceiling will be non-negotiable for as long as Barack Obama is president. — “Whether it's today, or a number of weeks from now, or a number of months from now …
Discussion:
American Prospect and The Reaction

‘House of Indecision’ — House Republican leaders met today at the Capitol, but they made little progress toward solving the fiscal crisis, or calming the GOP's growing tensions. They remain undecided on the contours of a potential deal, and on how to sell one, especially to the conference's bloc of skeptical conservatives.
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA and Business Insider


Obama, Senate Dems hope to break logjam soon with debt ceiling bill — President Obama and Senate Democrats on Monday decided to try to break a political logjam that threatens the U.S. economy by advancing legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling as soon as possible.
Discussion:
Post Politics, Hot Air, CNN, Voices, VodkaPundit, Washington Monthly, Ed Driscoll, Prairie Weather, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, AEIdeas, Guardian and Shakesville

Smash-mouth Reid (Video)
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNN, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers, “The Lid” and FreedomWorks blogs

Obama dares Boehner to hold vote on ‘clean’ funding bill
Discussion:
Politico and Taylor Marsh

Senate to Move Ahead on ‘Clean’ Debt-Limit Increase
Discussion:
The Raw Story and Taegan Goddard's …

Obamacare or the Debt Ceiling
Discussion:
National Review and Washington Monthly

Obama to Boehner: 'Hold a vote. Call a vote right now. Let's see what happens'
Discussion:
Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

Reid plotting to stay in power
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, WJLA-TV, Connecting.the.Dots, Jammie Wearing Fools and Taegan Goddard's …


Republican disapproval grows in budget battle, Post-ABC poll finds — By Scott Clement and Peyton M. Craighill, Published: October 7 at 3:01 pm — Disapproval of congressional Republicans' budget wrangling after a weeklong shutdown has shot up to 70 percent, with 51 percent disapproving …
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CNN Shutdown Poll: Plenty of blame to go around — Washington (CNN) - Most Americans say the government shutdown is causing a crisis or major problems for the country, according to a new national poll. — And while a CNN/ORC International survey also indicates that slightly more people …
Discussion:
Washington Times, Outside the Beltway and Shakesville

Republicans Lose Ground vs. Obama in the Shutdown Blame Game — The Republicans in Congress have lost ground against Barack Obama in blame over the government shutdown, with Americans expressing increasing criticism of both parties in Washington, while the president's avoided that rise in public ire.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Raw Story, Little Green Footballs, Liberal Values and Taegan Goddard's …

Why Obama Must Talk to the GOP — The president doesn't need to cave on Obamacare to help end the GOP-inspired fiscal crisis. — President Barack Obama visits M. Luis Construction on October 3, 2013 in Rockville, Maryland. (Dennis Brack-Pool/Getty Images) — I am on record advocating two seemingly incongruous positions.


‘Truckers for the Constitution’ Plan to Slow D.C. Beltway, Arrest Congressmen — Police must detain ‘accessories’ to ‘treason’ or truckers will, organizer says — Tractor-trailer drivers will intentionally clog the inner loop of the Washington, D.C., beltway beginning on the morning of Oct. 11 …
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Right-Wing Truckers Plan To Jam DC's Major Commuter Highway, Arrest Members Of Congress
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Washington Times and Associated Press


Bachmann: ‘End Times’ Are Coming Because Obama Is Supporting Al-Qaeda — Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) claims the end of days is near, and as proof the former Republican presidential candidate cited President Barack Obama's decision last month to support Syrian rebels, which she calls al-Qaeda terrorists …
Discussion:
The Daily Banter
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Bachmann: Obama Is Supporting Al Qaeda, Proving That We Are In The End Times — In an interview with Understanding the Times host Jan Markell on Saturday, Rep. Michele Bachmann accused President Obama of giving aid to Al Qaeda, which she said is proof that we are living in the Last Days.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs and The Raw Story


Republican Congressman Compares U.S. Default To His Household Budget — Since the government shut down last week, Tea Party Republicans have been slowly turning their attention away from simply demanding the repeal or delay of Obamacare in order to reopen the government and toward a more sinister scheme …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, msnbc.com and Salon
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A U.S. Default Seen as Catastrophe Dwarfing Lehman's Fall
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Business Insider, msnbc.com, Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, Hot Air, The Daily Banter, The Big Picture, Firedoglake, Daniel W. Drezner, Daily Kos and Guardian

Tom Coburn: No default if ceiling stays
Discussion:
Hot Air, National Review, Power Line, neo-neocon, The Mahablog, Washington Wire and Post Politics


Defects Cripple Health-Care Website — Six days into the launch of insurance marketplaces created by the new health-care law, the federal government acknowledged for the first time Sunday it needed to fix design and software problems that have kept customers from applying online for coverage.
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MSNBC Host: “I am Suggesting that” Ted Cruz Doesn't Love America — Kudos to Joe Scarborough this morning for calling out his fellow co-anchor. On Morning Joe today, Mika Brzezinski said that Senator Ted Cruz and all the other conservatives in Congress who want to defund Obamacare …
Discussion:
protein wisdom
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Mika: Ted Cruz, Like-Minded Republicans Don't Love America
Discussion:
Independent Journal Review and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion


Nebraska Decides 16-Year-Old Must Give Birth Because She Isn't ‘Mature’ Enough For An Abortion — The highest court in Nebraska has decided that a 16-year-old in foster care must carry her unintended pregnancy to term because she hasn't proven that she's “sufficiently mature and well informed” enough to choose to have an abortion.
Discussion:
Liberaland, RH Reality Check and Balloon Juice


Want to know why the government is shut down? This chart explains it. — Looking for the roots of the current morass in Washington? Look no further than the chart — built by the WaPo graphics wizards — below that shows the percentage of the vote that all House Members won with in the 2012 election.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway


Meltdowns Hobble NSA Data Center — Investigators Stumped by What's Causing Power Surges That Destroy Equipment — Chronic electrical surges at the massive new data-storage facility central to the National Security Agency's spying operation have destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth …
Discussion:
Forbes and emptywheel