First Read: “Unless we missed it, we didn’t hear a single apology from members of Congress, especially from the side that precipitated the shutdown. The president apologized once last week for all this.”
GOP Presidential Hopefuls Reject Deal
The Hill notes that nearly every potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate serving in Congress opposed the deal to fund the government and raise the debt limit.
Crisis is the New Normal
Joshua Green: “While the shutdown might look like the spectacular self-immolation of a band of bitter enders, it’s better understood as the natural consequence of a decades-long shift in the American political landscape…Congress has become so intensely divided that there isn’t much room left at the edges of the ideological continuum. Far from being an aberration, crises are more like the new normal…It’s not hard to envision a future that looks an awful lot like the present, with Republicans just strong enough to maintain control of the House, but shut out of the Senate and White House, and Democrats unable to regain the unified control of Washington they enjoyed during Obama’s first two years. This is a formula for plenty of drama and few accomplishments.”
Democrats Hope to Avoid Another Crisis in 90 Days
National Journal: “Two main assumptions underpin those Democratic hopes. The first is that Republicans, wounded politically in the current shutdown bout, will not want to rehash another government-shutdown battle in only 90 days. The second is that GOP hawks will come to the table to discuss unwinding the automatic cuts in place due to sequestration because the defense sector will take a bigger share of cutbacks in 2014 than it did in 2013.”
“Both assumptions could prove false. Democrats have consistently overestimated the current, tea-party-infused Republican Party’s willingness to negotiate away sequestration because of defense spending. And plenty of House Republicans, even amid plummeting poll numbers, did not sound ready to give up the fight.”
McConnell Enemies Blast Pork in Budget Deal
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Republican enemies “seized on a provision included in the final deal they said was a betrayal of conservative causes,” the Lexington Herald Leader reports.
“The deal contained a $2.8 billion authorization for the Olmstead lock and dam project in Western Kentucky that at first glance appeared to many as McConnell sneaking pork into the last-minute bill. While McConnell was the target, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander said he asked for its inclusion.”
Quote of the Day
“I’m not prepared to suggest that this has been a complete loss.”
— Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), quoted by the New York Times, on the 16 day government shutdown.
A String of Defeats for House Republicans
New York Times: “In the two and half years since they took control of the House, Republicans have gone from early legislative victories that cut government spending to a string of defeats that have grown worse over time. The latest ended with a bill that was expected to pass early Thursday and that would leave the country almost exactly where it had been before, only billions of dollars poorer and as a puzzlement to the world.”
“Two years of failed strategies to handcuff the Democratic minority have left Mr. Boehner as mostly a bystander while the most conservative members of his conference — who propelled him to power nearly three years ago — took the tiller of the House in their hands. Their goal: to dismantle what they consider to be an overreaching government, one vote at a time.”
Deal Averts Catastrophe But Leaves Uncertainty
The deal reached by Congress to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling “averts a financial catastrophe but leaves the weakened U.S. economy facing new threats,” the Washington Post reports.
“But while the bipartisan deal ends a period of disruption that has slowed the economy — the shutdown removed more than $20 billion in direct government spending and related economic activity — it creates new perils, setting up other economy-shaking deadlines in just a few months.”
“It also does almost nothing for the country’s existing economic challenges, including automatic spending cuts that are worsening the problem of high unemployment and a long-term debt challenge posed by mounting costs in health-care and retirement programs.”
Christie Still Headed for a Landslide
A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) buring challenger Barbara Buono (D) by 29 points among likely voters, 62% to 33%.
House Passes Bill to End Standoff
Congressional Republicans “conceded defeat in their bitter budget fight with President Obama over the new health care law, agreeing to end a disruptive 16-day government shutdown and extend federal borrowing power to avert a financial default with potentially worldwide economic repercussions,” the New York Times reports.
“With the Treasury Department warning that it could run out of money to pay national obligations within a day, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday evening, 81 to 18, to approve a proposal hammered out by the chamber’s Republican and Democratic leaders after the House on Tuesday was unable to move forward with any resolution. The House followed suit a few hours later, voting 285 to 144, to approve the Senate plan, which would finance the government through Jan. 15 and raise the debt limit through Feb. 7.”
Booker Wins Senate Race
Cory Booker (D) defeated Steve Lonegan (R) to become New Jersey’s newest U.S. senator, according to projections by the Associated Press.
Roll Call: “The rise to the Senate is the latest move for a politician whose ambitions are believed to reach even higher. He has already been mentioned as a potential vice presidential running mate in 2016.”
Senate Passes Deal to Break Impasse
The U.S. Senate passes a bipartisan solution to the weekslong budget crisis, voting 81-18 to raise the nation’s borrowing limit and fully reopen the federal government, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Cruz Says Establishment Won Again
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “came up empty-handed Wednesday in his battle to gut the Affordable Care Act, saying that he wouldn’t stand in the way of a Senate budget deal that includes none of the major changes to the health-care law that conservatives were seeking,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Politico notes Cruz “was resolute and firm, declining to admit defeat and instead chastising the ‘Washington establishment’ for waving the white flag on the health care law.”
Meanwhile, Think Progress points out Cruz pointed out he has more than 2 million names on his email list.
South Dakota Senate Race Tightens
A new Public Policy Polling survey in South Dakota finds that the U.S. Senate race has tightened since the summer, with Mike Rounds (R) now winning by only 6 points over Rick Weiland (D), 40% to 34%, with Libertarian Kurt Evans at 11%.
Tea Party’s Image Turns More Negative
A new Pew Research survey finds the Tea Party “is less popular than ever, with even many Republicans now viewing the movement negatively. Overall, 49% of the public has an unfavorable opinion of the Tea Party, while 30% have a favorable opinion.”
“The Tea Party’s favorability rating has fallen across most groups since June, but the decline has been particularly dramatic among moderate and liberal Republicans. In the current survey, just 27% of moderate and liberal Republicans have a favorable impression of the Tea Party, down from 46% in June.”
The Huge Cost of Fiscal Showdowns
Wonk Wire shows that Congress’s budget fights, debt-ceiling stand-offs, and spending cuts have cost the U.S. economy nearly 3% of GDP since 2010 — roughly $700 billion in lost economic activity.
Another Bonus Quote of the Day
“We fought the good fight, we just didn’t win.”
— Speaker John Boehner, in an interview with WLW-AM, on the budget and debt limit showdown.
Just 38% Oppose Obamacare
A new Democracy Corps (D) poll finds just 38% now clearly oppose the Affordable Care Act.
“While likely voters divide evenly on the plan, 8% oppose the law because it does not go far enough. As a result, just 38% oppose the law because it is big government.”
Another key finding: By 58% to 38%, voters say lawmakers should implement and fix the law rather than repeal it.
