memeorandum: 15 Reasons Why American Politics Has Become An Apocalyptic Mess (Howard Fineman/The Huffington Post)

9:50 AM ET, October 18, 2013

Top Items:

We Won't Back Down on ObamaCare — Fighting a law that is unfair, unworkable and unaffordable is reasonable and necessary. — Now that the government shutdown has ended and the president has preserved ObamaCare for the time being, it's worth explaining why my organization, the Heritage Foundation …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Harry Reid On Vitter And His Obamacare Amendment: ‘He Just Is Not Playing With A Full Deck’ — WASHINGTON — As the showdown over raising the nation's debt limit and funding the government entered its final week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) could sense “desperation” seeping into the Republican Party.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Weasel Zippers

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

GOP's McConnell promises no more shutdowns over ObamaCare — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he will not allow another government shutdown as part of a strategy to repeal ObamaCare. — McConnell (Ky.) told The Hill in an interview Thursday afternoon that his party learned …

Discussion: Politico, The Fix, The Moderate Voice, Liberal Values, Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNN, Washington Monthly, Post Politics and Booman Tribune

Politico:

Donors' frustration with GOP mounts — Republican donors were horrified in November after pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into losing campaigns for president and Congress with nothing to show for it. A year later they're appalled by how little has changed, angered by the behavior …

Abby D. Phillip / ABC News:
Ted Cruz Won't Rule Out Another Shutdown, But McConnell Does

Discussion: Politico, msnbc.com, Talking Points Memo, Hot Air, Business Insider and Daily Kos

Per Kaplan / Gretawire:

This is what happened ..... Click to read — From FNC CHAD PERGRAM: — Urgent: House Stenographer says Holy Spirit woke her up at night to deliver message to the House — Karrah Kaplan spoke with the husband of House stenographer Dianne Reidy last night. There's an emailed statement here from Dan Reidy.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, BizPac Review, Mediaite, ABC News, The Hill, SoundCloud and Gawker

Geoff Earle / New York Post:

Long hours made stenographer snap — WASHINGTON - The shutdown provoked her meltdown. — The official stenographer who flipped out on the floor of the House as the world watched the vote ending the nation's debt-ceiling crisis was clocking mind-numbing hours during the government shutdown, her husband said.

Discussion: Liberaland, BizPac Review and ABC News

Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:

Analysis: Republicans reassess after shutdown debacle — The GOP establishment has embarked, once again, on a round of soul-searching. But this time, the question is: What will it take to save the Republicans from the self-destructive impulses of the tea party movement?

Discussion: NewsBusters

Scott Conroy / Real Clear Politics:

Brian Schweitzer Mulling 2016 Presidential Bid — Add another name to the short list of Democrats seriously considering a run for president in 2016. — In an interview with RealClearPolitics, former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer indicated that he may launch a White House bid …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Alex Pappas / The Daily Caller:

There's no actual debt ceiling right now — There's no actual debt ceiling right now. — The fiscal deal passed by Congress on Wednesday evening to re-open the government and get around the $16.4 trillion limit on borrowing doesn't actually increase the debt limit. It just temporarily suspends enforcement of it.

Discussion: Right Wing News and The Heritage Foundation

Leigh Ann Caldwell / CNN: Obama may have won now, but next three years could be tough

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
GOP Frees The Debt Ceiling Hostage — Maybe For Good

Discussion: The Dish

Robert Costa / National Review:

McConnell's Exit Interview — On Thursday morning, I sat down with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, in his Capitol office. We discussed his role in brokering the recent fiscal deal, his outlook on future talks, and Republican expectations for divided government.

Discussion: First Read, Watchdog Earth, The Dish, Guardian, Wonkblog and Taegan Goddard's …

Brian Beutler / Salon:
GOP's huge Tea Party mess has only just begun

Discussion: Sky Dancing, The Caucus, Prairie Weather, Connecting.the.Dots, The Plum Line, Little Green Footballs, The Dish and New York Times

Manu Raju / Politico:
Mitch McConnell defends deal, slams Obamacare tactics

Discussion: The National Memo

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Damage Done — The government is reopening, and we didn't default on our debt. Happy days are here again, right? — Well, no. For one thing, Congress has only voted in a temporary fix, and we could find ourselves going through it all over again in a few months.

Discussion: Daily Kos, Seeing the Forest and The Dish

Angus McDowall / Reuters:

Saudi Arabia, angered over Mideast, declines Security Council seat — (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented show of anger at the failure of the international community to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle East issues, said on Friday it would not take up its seat on the United Nations Security Council.

Discussion: VodkaPundit

Elizabeth Llorente / Fox News:

They're Not Going To Take It Anymore: New Generation Of Immigrant Advocates Take Radical Approach — The frustration, say immigration advocates, is reaching a fever pitch. — That is why, many say, recent weeks have seen activists use chains and pipes to tie themselves to the tires of buses …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and Weasel Zippers

James Taranto / Wall Street Journal:

In Defense of Kathleen Sebelius — The ObamaCare disaster isn't just a management failure. — “Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, has no intention of bowing to Republican demands that she resign,” the New York Times reports. And amid what even the Times admits …

Discussion: Hot Air, Watchdog.org, Infowars and The Hill

The Atlantic Online:

The Conservative War on the GOP — What was once an uneasy alliance between Tea Partiers and Republican loyalists is increasingly marked by hostility—and many on the right now want a divorce. — On his radio show recently, Glenn Beck urged his listeners to “defund the GOP.”

Discussion: Bloomberg, Yahoo! News, Doug Ross, The Monkey Cage, Business Insider, The Dish and Political Algebra

Tal Kopan / Politico:
Eureka! Tea partiers know science

Discussion: Hit & Run, Rush Limbaugh, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and Viking Pundit

Michael Barone / Wall Street Journal:

Michael Barone: Washington Is Partisan—Get Used to It — Consensus is elusive in an electorate without the shared memories of the Great Depression and World War II.

TIME:

From the Department of Petty Controversies: Schools Cancel Halloween — Of all the conflicts to roil our educational system, this one is pretty absurd — In the latest example of small-mindedness plaguing our educational system, schools around the country are attempting to ban costumes …

Discussion: Hit & Run

New York Times:

Two Parties Start Work to Avoid Repeat Crisis — WASHINGTON — With the government reopened and a debt default averted for now, Congressional negotiators on Thursday plunged into difficult budget talks to avoid a repeat crisis within months, and quickly agreed to lower their sights from the sort …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and Wall Street Journal

Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:

Behind the curtain, more waving red flags for Obamacare — BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL BARACK OBAMA OBAMACARE PRESIDENT HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH CARE — So few applicants have gotten far enough along in Obamacare's enrollment process at Healthcare.gov that insurers are only beginning …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Weekly Standard, The Dish, Heritage Action for America, Watchdog.org and Hot Air

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Obama's Edge Over G.O.P. Is Still Unclear After Victory in Standoff — WASHINGTON — As the Senate voted Wednesday night on a bipartisan deal to reopen the government and avert a national default, President Obama emerged from the Oval Office prepared to head to the White House briefing room to deliver a televised statement.

Discussion: The Week

Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:

Design Firm Removes All Reference To Its Work On Obamacare From Its Website — Teal Media was founded by a former member of Obama's campaign design team. The firm says it took down all reference to its work on HealthCare.gov “in consultation” with the administration.

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, Weasel Zippers, National Review and Hot Air

Domenico Montanaro / firstread.nbcnews.com:

Poll: Amid shutdown, Republican falls further behind in race for Va. governor — National Republicans may be glad the midterm elections are a year away after polls have shown the party's favorability at all-time lows because of the federal government shutdown. But one Republican - in a swing state - is caught in the buzz saw.

Discussion: NationalJournal.com, Washington Wire, Weekly Standard, First Read, The Moderate Voice, PoliticusUSA, Taegan Goddard's … and NBCNews

Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:

A Tree Grows in Canada — This Friday is Persons Day in Canada, a special day on the country's calendar that commemorates, of all things, a judicial decision. It was on Oct. 18, 1929, that the Privy Council, a court in London that served then as the highest appeals court for Canada …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, National Review and SCOTUSblog

Thomas Roberts / msnbc.com:

Why I'm going to Russia despite anti-gay laws — Courage is contagious. I have felt that way since coming out publicly in 2006. I've never regretted it. — This November, I will co-host Miss Universe in Moscow partly because it is a huge, visible opportunity for LGBT people. Everywhere.

Discussion: AMERICAblog News, Advocate and Towleroad News #gay