A senior administration official tells the Wall Street Journal: “We are winning…It doesn’t really matter to us” how long the shutdown lasts “because what matters is the end result.”
Corbett Compares Gay Marriage to Incest
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) compared gay marriage to incest in a television interview, the AP reports.
Corbett was asked about a statement his lawyers made in a court filing in August comparing gay and lesbian couples to children, as neither may legally marry in Pennsylvania.
Corbett, who previously called that statement inappropriate, now says he thinks “a much better analogy would have been brother and sister, don’t you?”
Looking for the Monthly Jobs Report?
Wonk Wire notes it’s been delayed due to the government shutdown.
Davis Kicks Off Texas Campaign With No Talk of Abortion
Wendy Davis (D) “talked a lot about the issues she wants to emphasize in her race for Texas governor: public education (she’s for it) and hyper-partisanship and political cronyism in Austin (she’s against it). But the one thing she didn’t talk about — the very thing that has made her suddenly a viable statewide candidate — was conspicuously absent,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
“Thursday’s kickoff announcement was not the place to discuss abortion or women’s health care. But because those issues will most certainly be a subtext of her opponent’s attacks against her, Davis is going to have to find a way to talk about them.”
The Fix: “How much of a chance does Davis have to accomplish what no Democrat has since 1990? In short, a very slim one.”
McAuliffe Remains in Front
A new Emerson College poll in Virgina finds Terry McAuliffe (D) leading Ken Cuccinelli (R) in the race for governor, 43% to 38%, with Robrt Sarvis (L) at 11%.
A new University of Mary Washington poll finds McAuliffe leading 42% to 35%.
A new Hampton University poll has McAuliffe up 43% to 38% with Sarvis at 11%.
Quote of the Day
“He’s a coward.”
— Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted by Politico, telling Democratic senators this week what he really thought of Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).
Senior Republicans Push Deal to Include Debt Limit
“Senior Republicans in Congress, frustrated over their inability to strike a deal to reopen the government, began shifting from their drive to undercut the 2010 health-care law, which has been the central element of the dispute, toward a broader budget deal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The new focus comes as Congress is beginning to confront the need to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, which the Treasury said must be done this month in order to pay the nation’s obligations. With federal agencies largely shuttered for a third day, some GOP lawmakers were exploring whether the political stalemate over funding the government could best be resolved by crafting a broader fiscal package that would include an increase in the debt ceiling.”
Said Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) to the Washington Post: “This needs to be a big bipartisan deal. This is much more about the debt ceiling and a larger budget agreement than it is about Obamacare.”
GOP Elders See Shutdown as Big Distraction
New York Times: “The hard-line stance of Republican House members on the government shutdown is generating increasing anger among senior Republican officials, who say the small bloc of conservatives is undermining the party and helping President Obama just as the American people appeared to be losing confidence in him.”
“From statehouses to Capitol Hill, frustration is building and spilling out during closed-door meetings as Republicans press leaders of the effort to block funding for the health care law to explain where their strategy is ultimately leading.”
Washington Post: “Party veterans say they are increasingly concerned that a
prolonged standoff in Washington could damage their prospects for
winning back the Senate in 2014.”
De Blasio Crushing Lhota in Mayoral Race
A new New York Times/Siena poll in New York City finds Bill de Blasio (D) with a commanding lead over Joseph Lhota (R), 68% to 19%, among likely voters.
“The race is not over: the two men have agreed to televised debates on three successive Tuesdays this month, and those exchanges, as well as the television ads, will introduce the candidates to New Yorkers who have not yet tuned in.”
“But the poll found extraordinarily daunting odds against Mr. Lhota, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Mr. de Blasio’s lead cut across just about every category: he led among voters regardless of age, race, gender, and income and education level. Registered Republicans made up the only group in which a majority backed Mr. Lhota.”
What White House Fears in Debt Limit Fight
Greg Sargent: “Right now, the primary fear among senior Obama administration officials is that John Boehner and the GOP leadership don’t grasp just how damaging Obama believes it would be to the remainder of his tenure — and the office of the presidency itself and the proper balance of power between it and Congress — if he were to concede anything in exchange for GOP support for a debt limit hike.”
Obama Scraps Asia Trip Over Shutdown
President Obama “has canceled the rest of his week-long trip to Asia, pulling out of two regional summits to remain in Washington to try to break a budget impasse in Congress that has shut down the federal government,” the Washington Post reports.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“This whole thing is about one thing, the
Republican obsession with the Affordable Care Act. That seems to be the
only thing that unites the Republican Party right now.”
— President Obama, quoted by Reuters, on the government shutdown.
What Will Republicans Fight Next?
Paul Waldman: “The question is, if eventually they have no choice but to accept that the argument over the ACA is settled, what on earth will Republicans do with themselves? Because over the last four years, opposition to Obamacare has taken on such an extraordinary power within the movement that all other issues have paled before it.”
“Sure, they could revert to the old standbys — Cut taxes! Cut regulations! Strong defense! But those are just positions you can take. Obamacare was a war to be fought. And nothing galvanizes, energizes, and defines us like our wars. That’s particularly true of the zealots who are driving the Republican party and form such a key part of its base. And if they aren’t fighting Obamacare, who will they be?”
On Wonk Wire
Some of the latest posts over at Wonk Wire:
Gingrich Says Founders Approved of Government Shutdowns
Newt Gingrich argues in Time that the Founding Fathers actually liked government shutdowns.
“Because power is split, there are moments when the different branches cannot reach agreement. In those moments, the tension builds. Government shutdowns are an expression of those differences.”
McAuliffe Links Cuccinelli to Government Shutdown
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe (D) links rival Ken Cuccinelli (R) to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and the federal government shutdown in a tough new ad.
Boehner Tells Republicans He Won’t Let Country Default
“With a budget deal still elusive and a deadline approaching on raising the debt ceiling, Speaker John A. Boehner has told colleagues that he is determined to prevent a federal default and is willing to pass a measure through a combination of Republican and Democratic votes,” the New York Times reports.
One GOP lawmaker said Boehner “had said he would be willing to violate the so-called Hastert Rule if necessary to pass a debt-limit increase… Other Republicans also said Thursday that they got the sense that Mr. Boehner would do whatever was necessary to ensure that the country did not default on its debt.”
Matthew Yglesias: “It is, in other words, the classic suicide hostage strategy: Do what I want or I’ll detonate the bomb strapped to my chest. This has always been Boehner’s position. Is it credible? I don’t think so, but my confidence level is relatively low. Is it a morally acceptable way for a statesman to conduct himself? Absolutely not. Is it different from what he’s been saying all along? Nope.”
What the GOP Base is Thinking
Democracy Corps conducted focus groups to get inside the base of the Republican Party.
“Understand that the base thinks they are losing politically and losing control of the country – and their starting reaction is ‘worried,’ ‘discouraged,’ ‘scared,’ and ‘concerned’ about the direction of the country – and a little powerless to change course. They think Obama has imposed his agenda, while Republicans in DC let him get away with it.”
