memeorandum: Ted Cruz Could Force a Debt Default All by Himself (Joshua Green/Businessweek)

4:05 PM ET, October 14, 2013

Top Items:

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: The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Taegan Goddard's …, Los Angeles Times, Outside the Beltway, The Week, neo-neocon, Hullabaloo, Guardian, The Dish, The New Republic, Reuters and Daily Kos

Joshua Green / Businessweek:

Ted Cruz Could Force a Debt Default All by Himself — Here's a cheerful thought as Congress remains deadlocked over the debt ceiling and the hours tick away toward default: Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who basically forced the shutdown and whose own private polls have convinced …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, The Fix, Washington Post, Booman Tribune, Patterico's Pontifications and The Hill

Rosalind S. Helderman / Washington Post:
Obama postpones meeting with congressional leaders; Collins cites ‘progress’ in talks

Discussion: Post Politics, Crooks and Liars and Income Investing

Politico:
Senate leaders nearing a deal

Discussion: Washington Monthly and msnbc.com

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

Discussion: The Hill, The Moderate Voice, Roll Call and CNN

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

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

CNN:
Senate leaders optimistic they will reach shutdown, debt deal

Discussion: KTLA 5 and Talking Points Memo

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 and Hullabaloo

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly and The Dish

Jonathan Cohn / The New Republic:
Republicans Are Still Hoping Democrats Will Give In Due to the Default Threat

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

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

Noreen Malone / The New Republic:

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, Real Clear Politics, Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice, Associated Press and nbcwashington.com

Taegan Goddard's Political Wire:

Why Sarah Palin is Back — Wondering why Sarah Palin has reemerged on the political scene in recent days? — She has a new book out next month: Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas by Sarah Palin. — Sponsored — UNC-Chapel Hill Offers MPA Program Online

Discussion: Liberaland

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

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:

This Video Of Republicans Tightening Control Of House Is As Unusual As It Seems — The video of an exchange between Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen and GOP Rep. Jason Chaffetz over Republican rule changes spread like wildfire this weekend. GOP leaders are hanging on by their fingernails.

Ashley Alman / The Huffington Post:
House Republicans Changed The Rules So A Majority Vote Couldn't Stop The Government Shutdown

Discussion: The Lead with Jake Tapper, Post Politics, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Raw Story

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: Power Line and Betsy's Page

Ezra Klein / Wonkblog:
Five thoughts on the Obamacare disaster

Discussion: Slate and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Charles C. Johnson / The Daily Caller:

Neighbors: Cory Booker never lived in Newark — As Cory Booker looks set to win the junior Senate seat in New Jersey Wednesday, his supposed neighbors in Newark say Mayor Booker doesn't live in the Gateway City. — Multiple residents of Newark told The Daily Caller that the longtime mayor …

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Lonely Conservative and FishbowlDC

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Poll: New Jersey Senate race tightens

Discussion: Outside the Beltway

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: 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, Weasel Zippers, Independent Journal Review, The Daily Caller, The Lonely Conservative and The PJ Tatler

The Fix:

Poll: Republicans losing no-win game — All of Washington's elected leaders earn negative marks for handling budget negotiations, but the public's ire toward Republicans in Congress has hardened quicker than disapproval of President Obama and Democrats through a fortnight of failed negotiations.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Daily Kos, The Hinterland Gazette and National Review

Lloyd Green / The Daily Beast:

The GOP's Backdoor Impeachment Scheme — Republicans have lost at the ballot box and the Supreme Court, so they've decided to nullify President Obama another way: keep his government from working, period. — The dance over the debt ceiling and the fight over the government shutdown …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA

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, Hot Air and The PJ Tatler

Dinesh Ramde / Associated Press:

Son Of Slain Sikh To Challenge Paul Ryan In Wisconsin 2014 — MILWAUKEE (AP) — The son of a slain Sikh temple president plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan in next year's congressional election, in a Wisconsin district where support for the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee has been strong but slipping.

Discussion: The Raw Story

Deadline.com:

Alec Baldwin Betters MSNBC In Crowd But Costs In Demo, Trounced by Hannity — Alec Baldwin's premiere of his new MSNBC interview show Up Late With Alec Baldwin logged an average of 654,000 viewers on Friday - up 53% compared to the timeslot's take one week earlier.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller