Michael Tomasky: “Yes, Republicans have been in disarray, too, from time to time–the low points of the Iraq War, Katrina, and just last month during the government shutdown. But for a variety of reasons, the 24-7 news cycle era has found Dems in disarray to be a far more potent story line than Republicans in disarray. It’s alliterative, for starters. And it has been, I readily concede, legitimately true at times. Plus, Fox, for many years, drove the agenda that the other cable nets swallowed hook, line, and sinker. MSNBC has been a liberal pushback channel only for five years or so, or less than half the life span of the 24-7 cycle. (Remember when Tucker Carlson was an MSNBC host?) And Republicans have tended to have tougher game faces, march more in lockstep, and not concede those crucial rhetorical inches that Democrats so often feel compelled to grant.”

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds a majority of Americans said they belonged to neither party while 30% said they would prefer an independent or third-party candidate for Congress, more than wanted to vote for a Republican candidate.

Other remarkable findings:

The public’s view of the Republican Party has reached another all-time low in the survey, with just 22% seeing the GOP in a positive light and 53% viewing it negatively.

63% of voters want to replace their own member of Congress, which is the highest percentage ever recorded on this question that dates back to 1992,

Roll Call: “It’s hard to say which should trouble Republican Party leaders the most right now: the sour mood among GOP donors, or the money suddenly swelling Democratic campaign and super PAC coffers.”

“Not only have the Democratic campaign committees that back House and Senate candidates outraised their GOP counterparts, but unrestricted super PACs that support Democrats have pulled in close to three times what GOP super PACs have so far.”

Charlie Cook: “Those who already are saying that the House of Representatives is now ‘in play’ are getting a little ahead of their skis–forgetting a few key factors. At the same time, however, it’s no longer fair to say that there is virtually zero or at most a minimal chance that Republicans will lose their majority. Recent actions and behavior during the shutdown make that an equally risky argument to make. While it is still not likely, a discussion of what specifically would have to happen to make a Democratic majority a reality is in order.”

Matt Taibbi: “The modern Democrats may be morally suspect cynics who have failed the country on issue after issue, from the NSA to torture abroad to their refusal to fight corruption in the financial markets. But politically, they are not stupid. They surely see that there is no immediate political downside to letting Cruz play this out. Polls show the Republican Party approval rating has already dropped ten points, from 38 percent to an all-time low of 28 percent, and will only go lower from here unless disaster is avoided.”

“But the Democrats have to be big enough to resist the temptation to let the Republicans destroy themselves. They should be bringing every conceivable kind of pressure to save Cruz from himself and educate the public about the dramatic consequences of a default.”

Fortune: “There’s another budget crisis in Washington, and it’s unfolding inside the Democratic party. The Democratic National Committee remains so deeply in the hole from spending in the last election that it is struggling to pay its own vendors… The Democrats’ numbers speak for themselves: through August, ten months after helping President Obama secure a second term, the DNC owed its various creditors a total of $18.1 million, compared to the $12.5 million cash cushion the Republican National Committee is holding.”

Mark Murray: “One of President Barack Obama’s more under-reported achievements has been his ability to corral Democratic votes in Congress…. That is until now.”

“Twice in the past two weeks, congressional Democrats have broken with Obama on key issues — the first time this has happened during Obama’s four-plus years in the White House.”

Wonk Wire: Have both political parties already achieved their policy goals?

“The Democratic Party, it’s not dead like some people think it is.”

— Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), quoted by Politico.

Beth Reinhard: “While Republican governors elected during the party’s
historic wave in 2010 have drawn criticism for their unabashedly
conservative agendas to restrict abortion, rein in labor unions and
slash state spending, a number of Democratic governors are just as
aggressively pushing liberal policies like gay marriage and gun control.
Emboldened by President Obama’s re-election, a younger and more diverse
electorate, and an increasing number of state governments under
one-party control, these Democratic governors are crusading on issues
the party steered clear of until recently. It’s happening not just in
solidly-Democratic states like New York, Maryland, Delaware and
Connecticut but also in more competitive battlegrounds like Colorado,
where new gun laws are fueling two recall elections and threats of
secession from some rural counties.”

Thomas Edsall: “In private discussions, Republicans in the South talk explicitly about their goal of turning the Democratic Party into a black party, and in many Southern states they have succeeded. African-American legislators make up the majority of state House and Senate Democratic caucuses in most of the Southern states.”

“This is Massachusetts. We only have three pastimes: sports, politics and revenge.”

— Democratic operative Jim Spencer, quoted by Roll Call.

BuzzFeed looks at former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s (D) unfortunate hair transformation.

“We’re broke, broke, broke.”

— Alabama Democratic Party Chair Nancy Worley, quoted by the Birmingham News, announcing the party was evicted from its headquarters for not paying rent.

“Democrats worship abortion with same fervor the Canaanites worshipped Molech.”

— Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), quoted by The Hill.

Democratic strategist Doug Sosnick writes in a new memo that his party is “in decline” and “at considerable risk” when President Obama leaves office.

Said Sosnick: “Since Obama was elected President, the Democrats have lost nine governorships, 56 members of the House and two Senate seats.”

Politico: “While Republican branding problems get the lion’s share of attention, the Democratic Party’s favorability rating has declined by 15 points since Obama took power… With the likelihood of gridlock and near-record-low confidence in public institutions, Sosnik expects 2014 to bring the fourth change election in the past eight years.”

“Progressivism is well-intentioned but it is also — in my humble opinion — arrogant and condescending.”

— Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), quoted by The Hill.

“J.L.’s job is to make the trains run on time. My job is to get some trains.”

— Nebraska Democratic Party Chairman Vince Powers, quoted by the Lincoln Journal-Star, referring to his Republican counterpart J.L. Spray.