memeorandum: G.O.P.'s Hopes to Take Senate Are Dimming (Jeremy W. Peters/New York Times)

12:35 PM ET, October 13, 2013

Top Items:

Government Shutdown Negotiations Stuck On Sequestration — WASHINGTON — As the United States government approaches a deadline for raising the debt limit and the government shutdown nears its second week, Senate Democrats are taking a stand on sequestration.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, ThinkProgress, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hullabaloo, National Review, The Raw Story, Business Insider and New York Times

John Bresnahan / Politico:

‘Dangerous’ Lindsey Graham vents frustrations — Sen. Lindsey Graham is angry. He's frustrated. He's upset. In his own words, he's “very dangerous.” — With the government shutdown now in its 12th day, and a possible U.S. debt default looming on Oct. 17, the veteran Republican was in the mood to lash out at everyone Saturday.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, msnbc.com and Prairie Weather

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Corker: ‘Things Are Not Moving Now’ On Debt Deal — Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) painted a grim picture Sunday of ongoing negotiations to re-open the government and increase the debt limit. — “I think things are not moving now,” Corker said on Fox News Sunday. “The last 24 hours have not been good.”

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:

Talks to End Shutdown, Raise Debt Ceiling Deadlocked — Talks on ending the government shutdown and preventing default have once again deadlocked, but this time it is Democrats who are demanding changes to current law as a condition for ending the impasse. — With the two sides now negotiating …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

New York Times:

Senate Leaders Talk; G.O.P. Blames Obama for Gridlock — WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Sunday kept up the drumbeat of blame against President Obama for what they say is his failure to negotiate with them on the fiscal crisis that will come to a head on Thursday, when the government will run out of money to pay its bills.

Discussion: Gawker

Politico:
Democrats reject Susan Collins proposal

Discussion: CNN, Taylor Marsh, The People's View, NBCNews, Reuters, Outside the Beltway, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Daily Kos, National Review, Michelle Malkin, msnbc.com, The PJ Tatler, Washington Monthly and Lexington Herald-Leader

Joe Picard / The Hill:
Boehner reports no progress (Video)

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Politico, The Huffington Post, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Hullabaloo, Taegan Goddard's …, PoliticusUSA, Liberaland, Roll Call and Daily Kos

The White House:
WEEKLY ADDRESS: Let's Get Back to the Work of the American People

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Connecting.the.Dots

New York Times:
Senate Takes Lead as House Republicans' Talks With White House Fail

Discussion: The Caucus, Washington Monthly and Politico

Jonathan Strong / National Review:
Paul Ryan Flashes Anger at Senate Republicans

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, BuzzFeed, CNN, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, The Raw Story, BREITBART.COM and Politico

Washington Post:
Senate leaders take over government shutdown talks

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Monthly, The Plum Line, Post Politics, The Week and Mercury Rising

Keith Laing / The Hill:

Paul ‘cannot accept’ sequester increase — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Sunday that he is not willing to support any deal to raise the federal debt ceiling that includes increases in government spending that rise above the levels that have been in place since the implementation of the sequester budget cuts.

Discussion: Politico

Nick Gass / Politico:

Rand Paul: Sequester's the law of the land — Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday “the one thing” he could not accept as part of a deal to end the government shutdown is an increase in the sequestration caps. — “It's funny,” the Kentucky Republican said of Democrats.

Discussion: Business Insider

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

A Mad Tea Party — WASHINGTON — HOW awful are Ted Cruz and his Cruzettes? — They have done the impossible. They have made Americans look back at the Bush II era, the most reckless wrecking ball in American history, with relative nostalgia. — With 78 percent of Americans feeling blue …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Robert Pear / New York Times:

From the Start, Signs of Trouble at Health Portal — WASHINGTON — In March, Henry Chao, the chief digital architect for the Obama administration's new online insurance marketplace, told industry executives that he was deeply worried about the Web site's debut.

Discussion: Power Line, Business Insider, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Weekly Standard

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

G.O.P.'s Hopes to Take Senate Are Dimming — WASHINGTON — Next year was supposed to be a prime opportunity for Republicans to retake the Senate. And for a while, everything seemed to be breaking their way: a wave of Democratic retirements, a fluke in the electoral map that put a large number …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Jijo Jacob / International Business Times:

Debt Ceiling: China Calls for World to Be ‘De-Americanised’ — Chinese government mouthpiece says ‘Pax Americana’ has failed on all fronts — China's official news agency has called for the creation of a “de-Americanised world”, saying the destinies of people should not be left in the hands …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and The Gateway Pundit

Adam Liptak / New York Times:

How Activist Is the Supreme Court? — WASHINGTON — JUSTICES Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are ideological antagonists on the Supreme Court, but they agree on one thing. Their court is guilty of judicial activism. — “If it's measured in terms of readiness to overturn legislation …

Discussion: The Volokh Conspiracy