GOP finds its shutdown message  —  Republicans are seeking to paint Democrats as the “party of no” to help dig themselves out of a hole on the government shutdown.  —  The effort is aimed at softening the political blow of the shutdown while buying Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) time to figure out an end game.

How Democrats Got a Spine  —  The Republican Party taught them how to be uncompromising.  —  It's easy to forget, but this year began with a nick-of-time congressional compromise.  At the 11th hour, with Washington's supply of clichés nearly depleted, the House and Senate approved a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The Emerging Offer  —  It hasn't been announced, and you won't hear about it today, but the final volley of the fiscal impasse, at least for House Republicans, is already being brokered.  And according to my top sources — both members and senior aides — it won't end with a clean CR, or with a sprawling, 2011-style budget agreement.

Parties Race to Use Shutdown for 2014 Leverage  —  Republicans and Democrats have wasted little time trying to use the first federal government shutdown in a generation for political advantage ahead of next year's midterm elections, seizing on the plight of furloughed workers …

The Seinfeld shutdown  —  Quick: What do Republicans want in exchange for ending the government shutdown?  If you know the answer, congratulations — because Republicans sure don't.  —  When this saga began, it was about defunding Obamacare.  House Republicans passed legislation to keep …