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“At this point, it’s both an understatement and a statement of the obvious to say the government-shutdown showdown hasn’t been good for the Republican Party,” Gerald Seib writes.
“But there’s an exception to every rule–and in this case, three. That is, three nationally prominent Republicans have improved their standing while their party’s has slid backward: Sen. Rand Paul, Gov. Chris Christie and Rep. Paul Ryan.”
A new Esquire-NBC News survey “shows us that everything we are told about politics in America today–that there is no middle ground between left and right, blue and red, us and them–is wrong… there is a large group of American voters–even a majority–who make up a New American Center that is passionate, persuadable, and very real. They are merely waiting for Washington to find them.”
Take the quiz to find out where you are on the political spectrum.
A new Rutgers poll in New Jersey finds Cory Booker (D) leading Steve Lonegan (R) in the U.S. Senate race by 22 points, 58% to 36%.
The special election is on Wednesday.
Roll Call has the details.
New York Times: “President Obama praised the Senate’s progress, but issued a blunt warning to lawmakers about the possibility that the deal could yet founder in the House.”
A Senate Democratic aide tells Greg Sargent that they want the debt ceiling lifted for about 9 months — until early summer — with the idea being that the closer to the 2014 elections we get, the harder it will be for Republicans to stage another debt ceiling hostage crisis.”
Said the aide: “The effect of this fight has been to destroy the Republican brand and put their 2014 candidates behind the eight ball. We are not trying to bait them into another fight. We’d rather put it past the election. But it’s really up to them. If they want to recommit political suicide a few months before an election, that’s going to be their choice. We’re going to make sure that if this happens it has real consequences for them.”
A new ABC News-Washington Post poll finds a new high of 74% of Americans disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling Washington’s budget crisis, up significantly in the past two weeks and far exceeding disapproval of both President Obama and congressional Democrats on the issue.
Associated Press: “Once, the young nation had a dramatic excuse: The Treasury was empty, the White House and Capitol were charred ruins, even the troops fighting the War of 1812 weren’t getting paid.”
“A second time, in 1979, was a back-office glitch that ended up costing taxpayers billions of dollars. The Treasury Department blamed it on a crush of paperwork partly caused by lawmakers who — this will sound familiar — bickered too long before raising the nation’s debt limit.”
“These lapses, little noted outside financial circles in their day, are nearly forgotten now.”
“Top Senate leaders said they were within striking distance of a deal to sidestep a looming debt crisis and reopen the government two weeks after a partisan deadlock forced it to shutter,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Senators signaled a bipartisan resolution could come as soon as Monday afternoon, when top congressional leaders are scheduled to meet with President Obama.”
Politico reports the deal would “reopen the government until Jan. 15 and raise the national debt limit until Feb. 15. Several people familiar with the matter expected that a deal could be announced Monday, though its prospects in the GOP-led House are far from certain.”
“The Republicans’ decision to alter an obscure procedural rule has enraged Democrats and given them evidence that Republicans have purposefully throw the government into chaos with a shutdown,” BuzzFeed reports.
“Normally, any member of the House can force a vote on legislation which the Senate and House are unable to agree on. Although it is a rarely used mechanism, House Republicans were taking no chances in the days leading up to the shutdown. Republican leaders were nervous about the possibility that the Senate’s clean spending extension bill would pass the chamber on the strength of Democratic votes — or worse, that it would fail, taking it off the table permanently as a solution.”
A new Talk Business-Hendrix College survey in Arkansas finds more voters blame President Obama than Republicans for the government shutdown, 40% to 35%.
The poll also shows Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) barely ahead of Tom Cotton (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 42% to 41%.
President Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden will meet with the top four congressional leaders in a White House meeting Monday at 3 p.m., Roll Call reports.
The meeting comes on the 14th day of the government shutdown and just days before the U.S. is expected to reach its borrowing limit.
Wondering why Sarah Palin has reemerged on the political scene in recent days?
She has a new book out next month: Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas by Sarah Palin.
Joshua Green: “Here’s a cheerful thought as Congress remains deadlocked over the debt ceiling and the hours tick away toward default: Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who basically forced the shutdown and whose own private polls have convinced him that it has been a glorious success, at this point could probably force a default and global economic calamity on his own–if he were so inclined.”
Josh Barrow: “If Republicans were once the daddy party, now they’re the abusive ex-husband with a substance abuse problem party.”
The Raleigh News and Observer looks at why Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) agreed to hold the line with her party and force a government shutdown.
“So if Ellmers has anything to fear politically, it is a primary challenge from her right. The pressure will always come from party conservatives urging her to take the most conservative position, to never compromise with Democrats.”
“It is the same situation in congressional districts all across the country, where gerrymandering has caused political silos. There is no incentive for members of Congress to compromise or to work together. But there is constant pressure to take the most strident, ideological positions.”
Ezra Klein on the Obamacare exchanges: “We’re a couple of weeks in and people can’t sign up, people have tried 20, 30, 40 times. It’s one thing for that to be true the first three or four days, it’s another thing for it to be true two or three weeks in… One of the Obama administration’s jobs, separate from all of the political stuff we talk about here, is to simply run things like this well, to run their signature legislative initiative well. On that, so far, this has been a big failure.”
Wonk Wire: Redesign of healthcare.gov appears likely.
First Read says the rally that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sarah Palin had in Washington on Sunday protesting the closure of the war memorials didn’t help Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Why? Because the solution to this fiscal standoff, at least according to establishment Republicans, has always been to declare victory (from the lower government spending over the last couple of years), and simply move on. But the pressure from Cruz, et al isn’t going to give Boehner and McConnell any cover from Tea Party conservatives. Also, it was striking that the conservatives who shut down the government — by demanding that the health-care law be defunded or delayed — were stoking outrage that parts of the government were closed. It was akin to working to close a grocery store but then being outraged that the bread aisle is closed.”
Pro tip: If you want to express your love of US Army & its monuments … leave the Confederate flag at home. pic.twitter.com/dyByu9av51
— davidfrum (@davidfrum) October 13, 2013
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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