Cruz Warns Senate GOP: ‘Consequences’ for Supporting ‘Lousy Deal’  —  According to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, it's his colleagues, more than anyone, who should be blamed for the failure of the defund-Obamacare campaign — and he expects conservatives to remember come primary season.

The crux of Ted Cruz  —  Two things are often said in this town: “A day is a year in politics.”  And, “It's all about 2014.”  —  Combined, the two statements mean that much can happen between now and the midterm elections next year, when Republicans hope to hold the House and gain the Senate …

Tyrone on why the government shutdown and the debt ceiling crisis were brilliant Republican strategy  —  Tyrone, my evil twin brother, was in town visiting the other day, after a long absence.  He was upset that I gave so little space to the recent machinations in Washington …

Hillary Clinton hits campaign trail to endorse McAuliffe  —  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decried the “scorched earth politics” that led to the government shutdown at a campaign event for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe on Saturday.

The HHS Secretary refuses to testify about ObamaCare's rollout.  —  The Affordable Care Act's botched rollout has stunned its media cheering section, and it even seems to have surprised the law's architects.  The problems run much deeper than even critics expected, and whatever federal officials …

J.P. Morgan Reaches $13 Billion Tentative Deal with Justice Department  —  WASHINGTON—J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has reached a tentative deal to pay a record $13 billion to the Justice Department to settle a number of outstanding probes of its residential mortgage-backed securities business …

The Tea Party, by the Numbers  —  Most Republicans are a normal shade of red; Tea Party Republicans are a deep burgundy.  —  A national poll conducted for Bloomberg News in September shows that Tea Party Republicans are, across the board, more conservative than their fellow party members …

Dick Cheney calls his current health “a miracle”  —  Dick Cheney says his current health is “a miracle” in a frank discussion of the heart disease he suffered over his entire political career and especially when he served as the vice president.  In his first interview about his new book …

McConnell Totally Said No Before Saying No Was Cool  —  A number of journalists have been casting about desperately for sources of hope, and some of them have settled on moderate Republicans, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.  Paul Kane calls him “perhaps the most accomplished congressional dealmaker of his time.”

Transgender advocates want free mammograms under Obamacare  —  News that an uninsured transgender woman in Colorado was denied a free mammogram has prompted two advocacy groups to petition the federal government for equality in screening.  —  “That is irrational discrimination, plain and simple …

Armed gun rights activists rally at the Alamo  —  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Several hundred gun rights activists armed with rifles and shotguns rallied outside of the Alamo on Saturday in a demonstration that broke a longstanding tradition of not staging such events at the enduring symbol of Texas independence.

I'm Daisy Coleman, The Teenager At The Center Of The Maryville Rape Media Storm, And This Is What Really Happened  —  You may have heard my story, thanks to Anonymous who trended #justice4daisy.  I'm not done fighting yet.  —  Winter: cold, bleak, bitter, ugly.