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.

Ted Cruz Admits Budget Standoff Was All About Building Fundraising Lists  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) conceded on Wednesday that he would not hold up a vote on an emerging Senate deal to re-open the federal government and avert federal default, but admitted that the three-week long budget standoff …

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.

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.

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 …

Shutdown hurts GOP Senate chances  —  New PPP polls of 6 key Senate races that will determine control of the body after next year's election finds voters extremely unhappy about the government shutdown.  As a result Republicans trail in 5 of the 6 key races and are tied in the 6th.

Move On Everybody, It Just Doesn't Matter  —  The ugliness of the GOP schism will probably have a long half life, as various parties feel the need to point fingers and shout “I didn't do it!”  But if at all possible, I think conservatives and Republicans would be well-served by putting …

Sorry, Kids.  We Ate It All.  —  Eventually this shutdown crisis will end.  And eventually the two parties will make another stab at a deal on taxes, investments and entitlements.  But there's one outcome from such negotiations that I can absolutely guarantee: Seniors …

Anderson Cooper decides GOP strategist is ‘high’ after he says Cruz is ‘having bunny sex’  —  CNN host Anderson Cooper decided on Tuesday that CNN contributor Alex Castellanos must be “high” after the Republican strategist tried to explain Sen. Ted Cruz' (R-TX) push to shut down the government by saying “he's having bunny sex.”