memeorandum: US debt ceiling crisis - Barack Obama has won the shutdown. His prize is a lame duck presidency (Telegraph)

10:25 AM ET, October 17, 2013

Top Items:

Bob Cusack / The Hill:

Winners and losers of the debt-limit fight — The 2013 fiscal showdown was ugly, especially for Republicans. — Both parties have scoffed that there are winners and losers in the debate. — Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) recently said, “This isn't a damn game!”

Discussion: Politico and Reuters

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Advancing. Ever Advancing. — Much cynicism has been expressed over the past month about the effort, led by Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, to fight Obamacare. It was about money or defeating Republicans or something other than what it was about — undermining Obamacare with a united front.

Discussion: firstread.nbcnews.com, Rothenblog, No More Mister Nice Blog and Balloon Juice

Phillip M. Bailey / WFPL:

McConnell-Reid Deal Includes $3 Billion Earmark for Kentucky Project — A proposal to end the government shutdown and avoid default orchestrated by Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Harry Reid includes a nearly $3 billion earmark for a Kentucky project.

Discussion: Sky Dancing, Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers, The Gateway Pundit, Connecting.the.Dots, Doug Ross, Washington Post, Pat Dollard, The Lonely Conservative, BuzzFeed, The Other McCain, Conservatives4Palin and Politico

Steve Almasy / CNN:

There's a little pork in that bill: The 5 most surprising provisions in the debt deal — (CNN) — So much for a “clean” bill. The measure passed by Congress to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling also contains some goodies and gifts tucked into the 35-page bill.

Discussion: BizPac Review

Todd Starnes / Fox News:
American taxpayers betrayed by chicken-hearted RINOs

Discussion: Reuters, The Right Scoop and Twitchy

Senate Conservatives Fund:
McConnell Deal Includes Kentucky Kickback

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, Independent Journal Review, Talking Points Memo, Liberaland, ThinkProgress and National Review

Kerry Picket / BREITBART.COM:
Senate Debt Deal Weakens Congress on Debt Ceiling

Discussion: Power Line, Hot Air, Politico, Weasel Zippers, National Review, Daily Kos, VodkaPundit, The Lonely Conservative, ThinkProgress, The Week and Hit & Run

John Stanton / BuzzFeed:
Shutdown Deal Includes Nearly $3 Billion For Kentucky Dam Project

Discussion: The Daily Beast, The Week, Power Line and National Review

David Edwards / The Raw Story:
Cruz: It was a ‘remarkable victory’ until Senate Republicans caved on the shutdown

Discussion: Firedoglake

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Ryan breaks from Boehner, votes ‘no’ — Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) split with his party's leadership and voted against the Senate fiscal agreement on Wednesday night. — In a statement, Ryan called the legislation to reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling “a missed opportunity” to reduce the federal debt.

Discussion: Politico, The Fix, NewsMax.com, Washington Post and The Reality-Based Community

New York Times:

The Republican Surrender — President Obama signed the bill reopening the government and lifting the debt ceiling early Thursday morning. — The Republican Party slunk away on Wednesday from its failed, ruinous strategy to get its way through the use of havoc.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Hinterland Gazette, Daily Kos, Prairie Weather, Speaker.gov, National Review and Sky Dancing

Fox News:

Obama signs bill ending partial shutdown, raising debt ceiling — President Obama early Thursday signed a short-term bill ending the partial government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling, capping one of the most bitter and brutal political fights in recent memory.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, The Right Scoop and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jonathan Strong / National Review:

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.

Discussion: The Week, Vox Popoli, The Lonely Conservative, Ricochet Conversations Feed, No More Mister Nice Blog and The Gateway Pundit

Jennifer Steinhauer / New York Times:
Hands Empty but Spirit Unbowed, House Republicans Take Stock

Discussion: ABC News

New York Times:
Republicans Back Down, Ending Crisis Over Shutdown and Debt Limit

Jonathan Strong / National Review:
Boehner Safe — Speaker John Boehner may be preparing to bring …

Discussion: The Hill, Mediaite, Hot Air, The Plum Line, The Week, The Federalist, FreedomWorks and Politico

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:

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.

Russell Berman / The Hill:

Republicans grapple with stinging defeat — ObamaCare remained nearly unchanged as Congress voted to reopen the government and avert default Wednesday night and President Obama signed the legislation early Thursday. — The only provision touching the healthcare law that was included …

Discussion: Politico

CNN:

Republican congressman: It was worth the fight — Washington (CNN) - Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a tea party firebrand, said Thursday the fight that led to a government shutdown was worth it, but he acknowledged the GOP's messaging wasn't as effective. — “Anytime you fight for something …

Discussion: The Lead with Jake Tapper

Shane Goldmacher / NationalJournal.com:
GOP Congressman Rips Tea Party Colleagues: 'I'm Not Sure They're Republicans'

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, Hot Air, Washington Examiner, Yahoo! News and Guardian

Fox News:
Hume: Tea Party pushed budget stand-off because GOP ‘utterly failed’ to restrain bloated gov't

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, Outside the Beltway, The Dish, Mediaite, Independent Journal Review, Wall Street Journal, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and RedState

New Jersey Online:

Cory Booker makes history as he defeats Steve Lonegan in U.S. Senate election — NEWARK — Cory Booker's star-quality and his skill at surviving the roughhouse politics of New Jersey's biggest city took him from the mayor's office to the U.S. Senate today in a hard-fought victory over Republican iconoclast Steve Lonegan.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times and Balloon Juice

ThinkProgress: Only Four African Americans Have Ever Been Elected To The U.S. Senate In All Of American History

Jessica L. Taylor / NBCNews:
Booker wins Senate race in New Jersey

Discussion: The Daily Caller, theGrio, Mashable and Shakesville

Elizabeth Titus / Politico:
Cory Booker wins New Jersey Senate seat

Discussion: Post Politics, Equality Matters, Power Line, NewsBusters and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
Booker wins special Senate election in N.J.

Discussion: Ballot Box, Hot Air and Scared Monkeys

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Booker wins New Jersey Senate race

Discussion: E2-Wire, Politico and Yahoo! News

New Jersey Online:
Live coverage: Booker defeats Lonegan in U.S. Senate election

Discussion: Roll Call, Independent Journal Review, BizPac Review, Obsidian Wings and Weekly Standard

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

Documents reveal NSA's extensive involvement in targeted killing program — It was an innocuous e-mail, one of millions sent every day by spouses with updates on the situation at home. But this one was of particular interest to the National Security Agency and contained clues that put …

Discussion: The Raw Story

Reuters:
U.S. eavesdropping agency chief, top deputy expected to depart soon

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, Mediaite, The Verge, Techdirt, The Hill and Talking Points Memo

Politico:

House stenographer hauled from floor — A House floor stenographer was abruptly hauled out of the chamber after charging the dais and screaming during Wednesday's late night vote on raising the debt ceiling and funding the federal government. — As the bill sailed toward final passage …

Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:

GOP's presidential hopefuls oppose deal — Nearly every potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate serving in Congress opposed a deal, passed late Wednesday night, to fund the government and raise the debt limit. — Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Rand Paul (Ky.), Ted Cruz (Texas) …

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
Senate Votes To Re-Open Government, Raise Debt Limit

Discussion: his vorpal sword, The Raw Story and The Atlantic Wire

Ian Swanson / The Hill:
Congress approves deal to end shutdown, raise debt ceiling

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Infowars

Fareed Zakaria / Washington Post:

Conservatism needs to lighten up — The crisis has been resolved, but this respite is temporary. We are bound to have more standoffs and brinkmanship in the months and years ahead. To understand why, you must recognize that, for the tea party, the stakes could not be higher.