The Cruz Campaign Against ObamaCare  —  The freshman Texas Senator volunteers House Republicans for duty on his implausible defunding gambit.  —  So House Republicans have passed and sent to the Senate a budget that includes no funding for the Affordable Care Act, setting up a political showdown …

Republicans' dangerous rationality  —  It has become fashionable to give a psychiatric diagnosis to those Republicans teeing up a government shutdown.  —  “They're on a different planet,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Senate Democratic leadership, said last week.  “Off the deep end.”

Ted Cruz's Flinty Path  —  The fall television season kicks into gear this week, with tons of new stuff, but before you check out any of it, you owe yourself a bigger treat.  Go back and watch Chris Wallace's interview with Ted Cruz on “Fox News Sunday.”  —  That's entertainment.

Obamacare: One blow after another  —  The Obamacare that consumers will finally be able to sign up for next week is a long way from the health plan President Barack Obama first pitched to the nation.  —  Millions of low-income Americans won't receive coverage.