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Republicans Back Down, Ending Budget Crisis — WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans conceded defeat on Wednesday in their bitter budget fight with President Obama over the new health care law as the House and Senate approved last-minute legislation ending a disruptive 16-day government shutdown …
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House to vote first on Senate plan — The House will vote first on an emerging Senate proposal to open government and lift the debt ceiling, a move that would expedite bipartisan legislation developed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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Republicans Shut Down the Government for Nothing — After two weeks of closed government and a debt-limit freakout, a deal is on the horizon—and the GOP has little to show for the crisis caused by its demands. — With a deal to reopen the government apparently imminent Wednesday …
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ABC News, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, Prairie Weather, DownWithTyranny! and theGrio


Senate Votes To Re-Open Government, Raise Debt Limit — In the first step of a two-step process, the Senate voted Wednesday night to re-open the federal government and raise the debt ceiling. — The bill passed 81-18. Among the senators who voted against the bill: Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn …
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his vorpal sword and The Reality-Based Community


Congress sends Obama bill to end shutdown
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The Moderate Voice, Wonkblog, Post Politics, Business Insider, PostPartisan, The Fix and The BLT

House, Senate Vote Tonight on Fiscal Compromise
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ABC News, Liberaland, Politico and ThinkProgress

CONGRESSMAN: ‘CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS’ IF GOP CAVES ON DEBT CEILING
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The Gateway Pundit and protein wisdom

The Last Conference — At the last GOP conference meeting of the two-week government shutdown, no lawmakers went to the microphones to give their take. — Instead, after Speaker John Boehner told Republicans they had “fought the good fight,” they all rose up to offer a standing ovation.
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The Gateway Pundit, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Lonely Conservative
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John Boehner to Willie: 'We Just Didn't Win' — ( Tri-State ) - US Speaker of the House John Boehner was on with Bill Cunningham on Wednesday afternoon. — He says he will bring the deal reached in the US Senate to a vote in the House, and he's encouraging Republicans to vote for the plan.
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The Week, Weasel Zippers, Talking Points Memo and Roll Call


Matt Drudge Predicts Pelosi Will Be Next Speaker
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The Hinterland Gazette, The Moderate Voice and The Raw Story

Boehner Safe — Speaker John Boehner may be preparing to bring …
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The Hill, FreedomWorks, Mediaite, The Federalist, Hot Air, The Week, The Plum Line and Politico

GOP Rep. Mulvaney: Boehner ‘Hundred Percent Stronger’ Now
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Mediaite

House Dems Sent Boehner a Message: Strike a Deal and Maybe We Can Help Protect Your Speakership
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Talking Points Memo


Tea Party's Image Turns More Negative — Ted Cruz's Popularity Soars among Tea Party Republicans — The Tea Party is less popular than ever, with even many Republicans now viewing the movement negatively. Overall, nearly half of the public (49%) has an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party, while 30% have a favorable opinion.
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GOP Congressman Rips Tea Party Colleagues: 'I'm Not Sure They're Republicans'
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Hot Air, Guardian and Washington Examiner


Cory Booker wins New Jersey Senate seat — Democrat Cory Booker won the special election for New Jersey's Senate seat on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. The Newark mayor and heavy favorite in the race defeated Republican and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan.
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The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, NewsBusters, OpenSecrets.org and National Review
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Booker wins New Jersey Senate race — Newark Mayor Cory Booker won the New Jersey Senate special election on Wednesday night in an unsurprising finale to a surprisingly contentious race. — The Associated Press called the race for Booker, who led Lonegan 56 percent to 43 percent, with 52 percent of precincts reporting.

Live coverage: Booker defeats Lonegan in U.S. Senate election — NEWARK — It's official: Democrat Cory Booker is set to beat Republican Steve Lonegan tonight to become New Jersey's newest U.S. senator, according to projections by the Associated Press. — The Star-Ledger's political team …
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Roll Call, Weekly Standard, Obsidian Wings and Mashable

Booker wins special Senate election in N.J. — (CNN) - Cory Booker is heading to Washington. — The 44-year-old two-term Democratic mayor of Newark, New Jersey defeated his Republican opponent, Steve Lonegan, Wednesday in a special U.S. Senate election. — Follow @politicaltickerFollow @psteinhauserCNN
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Hot Air

McConnell Deal Includes Kentucky Kickback — The Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF) criticized U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Wednesday for allowing a $2 billion Kentucky earmark to be added to the debt deal he negotiated with U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). SCF Executive Director Matt Hoskins made the following statement:
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Politico, Washington Post, Liberaland, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and National Review
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Shutdown Deal Includes Nearly $3 Billion For Kentucky Dam Project — “According to the Army Corps of Engineers, 160 million taxpayer dollars will be wasted because of canceled contracts if this language is not included,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, one of the authors of the language.
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Power Line and National Review

Bridge Burning and Bridge Building
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The Daily Beast, The New Republic, Talking Points Memo, Slate, Hullabaloo, BillMoyers.com, Hot Air, Liberaland, The Dish and A plain blog about politics


Why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison — Things surely would look far different with Sen. Hutchison in office in the nation's capital — Does anyone else miss Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison? — We're not sure how much difference one person could make in the toxic, chaotic, hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington …
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S&P: Shutdown cost economy at least $24B — The government shutdown cost the nation's economy at least $24 billion and shaved 0.6 percent off the nation's economic growth, according to new analysis from Standard & Poor's. — With a deal seemingly headed for the finish line …
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Econbrowser, PoliticusUSA and The Hinterland Gazette
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S&P: The Shutdown Took $24 Billion Out Of The US Economy
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Talking Points Memo, ThinkProgress and Wonkblog


U.S. eavesdropping agency chief, top deputy expected to depart soon — (Reuters) - The director of the U.S. National Security Agency and his deputy are expected to depart in the coming months, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, in a development that could give President Barack Obama a chance to reshape the eavesdropping agency.
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Techdirt, Defense One, Mediaite and The Verge
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College Women: Stop Getting Drunk — It's closely associated with sexual assault. And yet we're reluctant to tell women to stop doing it. — In one awful high-profile case after another—the U.S. Naval Academy; Steubenville, Ohio; now the allegations in Maryville, Mo.—we read about a young woman …