memeorandum: Endorsement: Terry McAuliffe for Virginia governor (Washington Post)

3:30 PM ET, October 13, 2013

Top Items:

Government Shutdown Negotiations Stuck On Sequestration — WASHINGTON — As the United States government approaches a deadline for raising the debt limit and the government shutdown nears its second week, Senate Democrats are taking a stand on sequestration.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Reality-Based Community, Politico, ThinkProgress, Post Politics, Washington Free Beacon, No More Mister Nice Blog, Business Insider, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hullabaloo, National Review and The Raw Story

Jonathan Karl / ABC News:

Talks to End Shutdown, Raise Debt Ceiling Deadlocked — Talks on ending the government shutdown and preventing default have once again deadlocked, but this time it is Democrats who are demanding changes to current law as a condition for ending the impasse. — With the two sides now negotiating …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh and Politico

Greg Clary / CNN:
Talking seen as ‘breakthrough’ on Capitol Hill

Discussion: Politico, The People's View and National Review

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Lindsey Graham: No Debt Deal Without House GOP Support — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Sunday that no Senate Republicans would vote to advance a government spending/debt-limit increase bill that replaces the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, which Senate Democrats are reportedly considering.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:

Corker: ‘Things Are Not Moving Now’ On Debt Deal — Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) painted a grim picture Sunday of ongoing negotiations to re-open the government and increase the debt limit. — “I think things are not moving now,” Corker said on Fox News Sunday. “The last 24 hours have not been good.”

John Bresnahan / Politico:

‘Dangerous’ Lindsey Graham vents frustrations — Sen. Lindsey Graham is angry. He's frustrated. He's upset. In his own words, he's “very dangerous.” — With the government shutdown now in its 12th day, and a possible U.S. debt default looming on Oct. 17, the veteran Republican was in the mood to lash out at everyone Saturday.

Discussion: CNN, The Huffington Post, msnbc.com, Prairie Weather, The Reaction, Outside the Beltway, Hot Air, PoliticusUSA, Liberaland and The Hill

New York Times:
Senate Leaders Talk; G.O.P. Blames Obama for Gridlock

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Gawker

CNN:

At tea party-like rally, Obama told to ‘put the Quran down’ — Washington (CNN) - Angered by the closure of national landmarks due to the partial government shutdown, a crowd of conservatives removed barricades Sunday at the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial as they rallied …

Discussion: Fox News, AMERICAblog News, Weasel Zippers and Outside the Beltway

WTOP.com:

Crowd storms World War II Memorial … WASHINGTON - Thousands of people converged on the World War II Memorial on the National Mall on Sunday morning and tore down the barricades blocking it off, protesting the closure of the memorial during the federal government shutdown.

Discussion: Associated Press, nbcwashington.com, The Raw Story and Scared Monkeys

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

A Mad Tea Party — WASHINGTON — HOW awful are Ted Cruz and his Cruzettes? — They have done the impossible. They have made Americans look back at the Bush II era, the most reckless wrecking ball in American history, with relative nostalgia. — With 78 percent of Americans feeling blue …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Nick Gass / Politico:

Rand Paul: Sequester's the law of the land — Sen. Rand Paul said Sunday “the one thing” he could not accept as part of a deal to end the government shutdown is an increase in the sequestration caps. — “It's funny,” the Kentucky Republican said of Democrats.

Discussion: Business Insider

Keith Laing / The Hill:
Paul ‘cannot accept’ sequester increase

Discussion: Politico

Robert Pear / New York Times:

From the Start, Signs of Trouble at Health Portal — WASHINGTON — In March, Henry Chao, the chief digital architect for the Obama administration's new online insurance marketplace, told industry executives that he was deeply worried about the Web site's debut.

Discussion: The Strata-Sphere, Business Insider, Power Line and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

G.O.P.'s Hopes to Take Senate Are Dimming — WASHINGTON — Next year was supposed to be a prime opportunity for Republicans to retake the Senate. And for a while, everything seemed to be breaking their way: a wave of Democratic retirements, a fluke in the electoral map that put a large number …

Discussion: Hullabaloo

Eric Liu / The Atlantic Online:

3 Reasons ‘Saving Face’ Is Overrated — There's a lot of talk now about how any resolution to the shutdown/default crisis will have to allow leaders to “save face”—particularly Speaker John Boehner, whose weakness in his own caucus precipitated the crisis and now prolongs it.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

John Wagner / Washington Post:

Attorney General Gansler depicted as reckless passenger by Md. troopers who drove him — Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler regularly ordered state troopers assigned to drive him to turn on the lights and sirens on the way to routine appointments, directing them to speed …

Discussion: Power Line and WJLA-TV