Republicans Have No Endgame
House Republicans continue gimmick bills. AP: "On Thursday, Republicans planned to continue pursuing their latest strategy: muscling bills through the House that would restart some popular programs. Votes were on tap for restoring funds for veterans and paying members of the National Guard and Reserves. On Wednesday, the chamber voted to finance the national parks and biomedical research and let the District of Columbia's municipal government spend federally controlled dollars. Democrats demanded that the entire government be reopened, and the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made clear that the GOP's narrower bills have no chance of survival. They said the strategy showed that Republicans were buckling under public pressure, with Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., saying groups like veterans were being 'used as a pawn in this cynical political game.'"
Cruz admits he has no endgame. Politico: "At a closed-door lunch meeting in the Senate’s Mansfield Room, Republican after Republican pressed Cruz to explain how he would propose to end the bitter budget impasse with Democrats, according to senators who attended the meeting. A defensive Cruz had no clear plan to force an end to the shutdown — or explain how he would defund Obamacare, as he has demanded all along, sources said. Things got particularly heated when Cruz was asked point-blank if he would renounce attacks waged on GOP senators by the Senate Conservatives Fund, an outside group that has aligned itself closely with the Texas senator. Cruz’s response: "I will not,' ..."
GOPers push for pairing steep spending cuts with debt limit increase... The Hill: "Rank-and-file members want Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to return to the so-called 'Boehner Rule,' which they say means any debt limit hike must be matched by an equal amount of spending cuts. An earlier GOP measure to raise the debt ceiling included a host of GOP priorities, including defunding ObamaCare and constructing the Keystone XL pipeline, but not dollar-for-dollar spending cuts ... Republicans are pushing hard for a strong opening bid and are adamant that changes to entitlement programs be included in any final deal."
...or, whatever. "'We're not going to be disrespected,' Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told The Washington Examiner. 'We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is.'"
"Republican Centrists Plot Revolt to End Government Shutdown" reports Roll Call: "...centrists could decide to try to hijack the floor. One way to get a clean CR would be by voting down a motion to order the previous question. If GOP centrists joined Democrats to vote down the previous question, Democrats could get control of the floor for an hour and might be able to offer a clean CR. But when would a group of moderates actually employ that strategy? ... [Rep. Pete] King said that was precisely what lawmakers in his office were discussing — 'when they should do it, how it should be done, what process we should follow.'"
Boehner Grasps For Grand Bargain
"Boehner tries to bring back the "grand bargain." Politico: "President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders refuse to negotiate until the government is reopened, and even then, they remain deeply skeptical that a sweeping deal is possible, given the GOP’s opposition to new revenue. When House Speaker John Boehner raised the idea at a White House meeting Wednesday with Obama and congressional leaders, 'everybody laughed at him because they’ve heard this song and dance so many times before,' said a Democratic aide briefed on the meeting. But it is gaining traction among Republicans ... There are fresh signs Republicans would consider new revenue if they are not raising tax rates, and key Republicans told POLITICO that they would be interested in some of the items discussed by Boehner and Obama in 2011."
Dems willing to talk, after the government is open. The Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) offered to open negotiations on tax reform Wednesday if Republicans agree to a clean resolution to reopen the government. Reid sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) pledging to appoint negotiators to a budget conference if House Republicans relent on a six-week funding stopgap. The budget conference is something Democrats have long sought, however, and the proposal was quickly shot down by Boehner’s office."
Obamacare Hasn't Affected Job Market
No, Obamacare hasn't made businesses shift to part-time workers. NYT: "'Economists said that in time the law might have an enormous and varied impact on the labor market ... But the current data do not show the health law affecting job growth, wage growth or the proportion of part-timers in the labor force ... The number of part-time workers for economic reasons — meaning those who would prefer to work full time — has dropped to 7.9 million from 9.1 million since the law was passed ..."
Republican governors successfully deny ObamaCare to 8 million poor in their states. NYT: "A sweeping national effort to extend health coverage to millions of Americans will leave out two-thirds of the poor blacks and single mothers and more than half of the low-wage workers who do not have insurance ... they live in states largely controlled by Republicans that have declined to participate in a vast expansion of Medicaid ... Those excluded will be stranded without insurance, stuck between people with slightly higher incomes who will qualify for federal subsidies on the new health exchanges that went live this week, and those who are poor enough to qualify for Medicaid in its current form, which has income ceilings as low as $11 a day in some states."
