memeorandum: GOP seizes advantage on Obamacare, White House struggles to defend: An alternative history of the past two months (Byron York/Washington Examiner)

1:50 PM ET, October 14, 2013

Top Items:

This Is the Single Most Ridiculous Thing That's Been Said During the Shutdown — On Sunday, Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz converged on Washington, D.C., to co-headline a protest against the federal government's closure of the World War II Memorial. It is perhaps not surprising that one of the more cynical …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Real Clear Politics, Associated Press, Balloon Juice and nbcwashington.com

Jennifer Jacobs / Des Moines Register:

Sarah Palin's coming to Iowa — Conservative pundit Sarah Palin will speak at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition's fall fundraiser, organizers told The Des Moines Register this morning. — She'll be one of several speakers, but Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah still has top billing as the keynote speaker.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Ballot Box and The Daily Caller

Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:

Crowd Heckles Cops at White House: ‘Brown Shirts,’ ‘Looks Like Something Out of Kenya’ — As we reported earlier, a protest that started at the World War II Memorial ended up in front of the White House, where protesters piled up barricades that had been used to keep people out of the memorial during the government shutdown.

Discussion: NewsBusters, The Mahablog, Shakesville, Talking Points Memo, The Dish, Salon and Liberaland

First Read / NBCNews:
First Thoughts: Can the Senate save the day?

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Taegan Goddard's … and First Read

Politico:

Harry Reid makes budget offer to Mitch McConnell — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has privately offered Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a deal that would reopen the government until mid-to-late December while extending the U.S. debt ceiling until next year, according to several sources familiar with the talks.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Plum Line, Guardian, Business Insider, The Dish, Daily Kos and The New Republic

Ashley Alman / The Huffington Post:

Louie Gohmert: A Debt Default Is ‘An Impeachable Offense By The President’ — Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) isn't sure whether he'll support a debt limit deal, but he is sure of one thing: a debt default would be President Barack Obama's fault. — A reporter for The Young Turks asked Gohmert whether …

Discussion: Daily Kos, The Mahablog, Taegan Goddard's … and The Raw Story

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
The ire next time — Whatever else came out of the shutdown …

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill, Roll Call and CNN

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:

Republicans Are Still Hoping Democrats Will Give In Due to the Default Threat — Mitch McConnell, leader of the Senate Republicans, approached Democrats with a new offer over the weekend: He and his colleagues would vote to open the government and increase its borrowing authority …

Discussion: The Dish, The Huffington Post, naked capitalism, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Power Line and Gawker

Janet Hook / Wall Street Journal:
Senate Democrats Press New Front in Budget Battle

Discussion: NewsBusters, MoneyBeat, CANNONFIRE, Taegan Goddard's … and Washington Post

Joe Manchin / CNN:
Manchin: Senate is 70%-80% close to a deal

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Moderate Voice and Politico

The Fix:
Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell don't get along. That's a major hurdle to a fiscal deal.

Discussion: ABC News, Post Politics, Washington Post, Politico and Hot Air

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Some say bitter rift between McConnell and Reid could endanger a deal

Discussion: Businessweek, Hot Air, ABC News, The Hill, msnbc.com, The World's Greatest … and Post Politics

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Dixiecrat Solution — So you have this neighbor who has been making your life hell. First he tied you up with a spurious lawsuit; you're both suffering from huge legal bills. Then he threatened bodily harm to your family. Now, however, he says he's willing to compromise …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Prairie Weather, National Review, Hullabaloo and msnbc.com

Robert Costa / National Review:
Divided and Uneasy — As the debt-ceiling deadline nears …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Stan Collender / Stan Collender's Capital Gains …:
Still No Better Than 50% That Debt Ceiling Is Raised By 10/17...And A Few Other Things

Discussion: The Dish

Fredric U. Dicker / New York Post:

GOPers eye Donald Trump for governor run — Increasingly desperate New York Republicans, seeking the political equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, are trying to get Donald Trump to run against Gov. Cuomo next year, The Post has learned. — They're seeking to make the case that while Trump …

Discussion: Liberaland and Mediaite

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
Report: New York GOP wants Gov. Donald Trump

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Outside the Beltway

Carolyn Roy / KSLA-TV:

Walmart shelves in Springhill, Mansfield, cleared in EBT glitch — Shelves in Walmart stores in Springhill and Mansfield, LA were reportedly cleared Saturday night, when the stores allowed purchases on EBT cards even though they were not showing limits. — The chaos that followed ultimately …

Discussion: Clarion-Ledger, The Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative, Independent Journal Review and The PJ Tatler

Susan Page / USA Today:

Colo. governor suggests gun-control groups stay away — WASHINGTON — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper suggests national gun-control groups stay away from a looming recall battle that could switch control of the state Senate to the GOP. The groups poured money into an unsuccessful defense …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The PJ Tatler and Hot Air

Tal Kopan / Politico:

Mark Halperin: GOP ‘terms of surrender’ — Veteran political journalist Mark Halperin said Monday that Democrats know they are winning the battle over the government shutdown and all that's left is negotiating the Republicans' “surrender.” — “It's just a question of the terms of surrender right now …

Discussion: The Hugh Hewitt Show

Byron York / Washington Examiner:

GOP seizes advantage on Obamacare, White House struggles to defend: An alternative history of the past two months — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL WHITE HOUSE BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE PRESIDENT HEALTH CARE DEBT CEILING ECONOMY GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN — What if, instead of throwing its political energy …

Discussion: Slate, Wonkblog, Power Line and Betsy's Page

Healthcare Reform:

Obamacare enrollees become urban legend — Will the Floridians who have enrolled for Obamacare please stand up? — Nearly two weeks after the federal government launched the online Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.gov, individuals who have successfully used the choked-up website …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Taylor Marsh, Hit & Run, The Daily Caller and Roger L. Simon

BBC:

Malaysia court rules non-Muslims cannot use ‘Allah’ — A Malaysian court has ruled that non-Muslims cannot use the word Allah to refer to God, overturning a 2009 lower court ruling. — The appeals court said that allowing non-Muslims to use the word would “cause confusion in the community”.

Discussion: The Jawa Report and Religion News Service

Reuters:
Malaysian court rules use of ‘Allah’ exclusive to Muslims

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jihad Watch

Bill Keller / New York Times:

Obamacare: The Rest of the Story — Unless you've been bamboozled by the frantic fictions of the right wing, you know that the Affordable Care Act, familiarly known as Obamacare, has begun to accomplish its first goal: enrolling millions of uninsured Americans, many of whom have been living …

Discussion: Right Wing News

Los Angeles Times:

Obamacare: Don't trust anyone over 60? — Mandatory health coverage could be the catalyst for a new generational war. — Some opponents of the healthcare reform law hope the individual mandate will turn off younger voters to the Democratic Party. Above, audience members watch last month …

Discussion: VodkaPundit