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 …

It's time to wrap up this comedy of political errors.  —  The Beltway budget melodrama rolls on to its predictable and dreary end, with both sides now split over increasingly small differences.  None of this is worth a partial government shutdown, much less the risk of a debt default, and both sides are looking like losers.

GOP Prepares For Surrender On Debt Ceiling And Shutdown  —  Republicans demanded a king-size ransom and are poised to walk away with virtually nothing.  —  The majority House GOP has flamed out, unable to settle on any proposal to lift the debt ceiling and avert a catastrophic default.

Bridge Burning and Bridge Building  —  House Republicans have signaled they are giving up.  —  They'll merge their ideas with Mitch McConnell's ideas.  The result will be a funded government, raised debt ceiling, and nothing done with Obamacare.  —  Throughout this fight, Harry Reid has outsmarted Mitch McConnell.

Houston Chronicle Yanks Ted Cruz Endorsement  —  As the federal government enters its sixteenth day of shutdown and stands just hours away from defaulting on the national debt, the largest newspaper in Texas has pulled its endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Breaking: Boehner to take vote on Senate compromise 1st, pass it with Dem votes  —  The endgame will arrive a little sooner than expected, thanks to a deal cut with John Boehner to take the first plunge on a bipartisan plan to end the budget standoff before the theoretical debt-ceiling limit gets breached.

Boehner to allow House vote on emerging Senate debt-ceiling deal  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has agreed to allow a vote in the House on the emerging Senate debt-ceiling deal, according to a Senate source.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Senate leader announces bipartisan budget deal  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leader Harry Reid says Senate leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to avoid default and end the government shutdown, now in its 16th day.  —  Reid made the announcement at the start of the Senate session on Wednesday.

Senate reaches deal to end shutdown, avert default  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will soon announce an agreement to reopen the government and avert default on U.S. debt, according to several sources familiar with the talks.

Carl Bernstein: GOP leadership ‘cancerous’  —  Journalist and author Carl Bernstein said Wednesday that Republican Party leadership is “cancerous” and has put the United States at risk by letting the tea party lead the GOP.  —  “The Republican Party today has become a rabid organization from the top down.

John Boehner's Bad Night Clears a Path for a Deal  —  House GOP pulls vote on debt bill, leaving Senate to probe a path forward  —  In another era, for a different leader, it would have been a stunning rebuke.  For John Boehner, it was just another embarrassing stumble in a speakership studded with them.

Stunned Republicans React to Canceled Vote  —  Referring to his plan to preemptively send the Senate a House-passed bill, Speaker John Boehner told his conference this morning that he'd “rather throw a grenade than catch a grenade.”  But with his right-wing troops abandoning him again it was the speaker left holding the bomb.