CIRCLE JERKS

There just isn't enough popcorn for watching all the sideshows in the GOP right now

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fox-s-chris-wallace-top-republicans-urged-me-to-hammer-ted-cruz-video
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said Sunday that top Republicans urged him to go after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the latest indication that the junior senator from Texas has alienated members of his own party over his strategy to defund Obamacare and risk a government shutdown.

Cruz was a guest on "Fox News Sunday," which Wallace hosts.

“This has been one of the strangest weeks I’ve ever had in Washington and I say that because as soon as we listed Ted Cruz as our featured guest this week, I got unsolicited research and questions, not from Democrats but from top Republicans, to hammer Cruz," Wallace told his panel . . .

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/la-cruzada-everybody-hates-ted-cruz 
Everybody Hates Ted Cruz

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/ted-cruz-minor-ivies-harvard-law-elitist.html 
Ted Cruz Is the World’s Most Condescending Elitist

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/me-ted
Me & Ted

And THEN

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/palin-demands-fox-news-host-turn-over-gop-ca
Fox News contributor Sarah Palin on Sunday lashed out at fellow Fox News employee Chris Wallace after he announced on his show that Republicans had contacted him anonymously with research to oppose Sen. Ted Cruz' (R-TX) plan to defund Obamacare. . . .

In a tweet addressed to Wallace's Fox News Sunday show, Palin demanded to know who was trying to "trash" Cruz. . . 

"Keep it TRULY fair & balanced. Release the GOP names encouraging you to trash @SenTedCruz," she werote. "No more anonymous sources."

"Someday I'm actually going to tell America what I really think about GOP elephants that would actually turn on a senator who is fulfilling his campaign promises" . . . 

"What is surprising though is my dad -- who is a science teacher, a natural history teacher -- dad, if you're watching this morning . . . you never told me that elephants were cannibalistic. I wish I would've known and then we would have a different tactic in the way we do campaigns."

More: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/23/1240741/-Vice-President-Palin-demands-that-the-Senate-obey-President-Cruz

And guess who is one of those cannibalistic elephants going after Cruz?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/23/aide-john-mccain-fcking-hates-ted-cruz/

[NB: Full circle, John. You helped create this beast, and now she is out to get you.]

And this is all a microcosm of the larger dilemma the Repubs have made for themselves: enabling and encouraging the teabaggers, when they thought they could use them and control them -- and now being brought to the edge of chaos by the very forces they helped unleash

http://prospect.org/article/can-republicans-buck-tea-party
Can Republicans Buck the Tea Party?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/23/john-boehner-is-letting-gop-extremists-hold-the-government-hostage.html
John Boehner Is Letting GOP Extremists Hold the Government Hostage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/09/23/john-boehner-doesnt-have-to-let-a-radical-minority-paralyze-our-government/
John Boehner doesn’t have to let a radical minority paralyze our government

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/former-gop-senator-most-americans-are-simply-ignoring-republicans-and-they-should
Former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) had a brutal assessment of his own party in an op-ed published Monday in The Hill.

"Most Americans these days are simply ignoring Republicans. And they should," Gregg wrote. "The self-promotional babble of a few has become the mainstream of Republican political thought. It has marginalized the influence of the party to an appalling degree." . . .

Have you read about Ted Cruz's plan?

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/cruz-filibuster-house-bill-obamacare
Cruz is a good talker, you have to give him that. But this appears to be his answer: Unless Reid agrees beforehand to Cruz's demands, he's going to filibuster the House bill even though it includes language defunding Obamacare.

Can he get most of the Republican caucus in the Senate to go along with this? I doubt it—not in the long run, anyway. Cruz isn't willing to admit that a Republican filibuster against the House Republicans' own bill would strike the American public as ridiculous, but it would. . . .

Say what? http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/23/20658242-ted-cruzs-shutdown-scheme-takes-shape
So, as a procedural matter, Cruz wants Senate Republicans to get behind him and vote, in near-complete unanimity, to filibuster the House bill they want to pass. Cruz will tell Reid and Senate Democratic leaders, "We'll continue to block the bill we support until you agree to let us filibuster your amendments." [read on]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-education-of-ted-cruz/2013/09/23/8fd1ccca-247b-11e3-b75d-5b7f66349852_story.html?wprss=rss_politics
Ted Cruz began a frantic effort Monday to bend the Senate to his will by employing tactics that have earned him mostly enemies in his less than nine months in the chamber.
 
A master of fiery conservative oratory, the freshman senator is trying to block funding for President Obama’s health-care law with a strategy that will almost certainly lead to a partial government shutdown next week. The Texan has become the face of an effort variously described as the “dumbest idea” that will lead Republicans to a “box canyon” and end with their political “suicide note.” 

And those descriptions were from Cruz’s fellow Senate Republicans. . . 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/23/1240844/-The-Ted-Cruz-guide-to-nbsp-self-promotion
Ted Cruz is doing a great job, as far as Ted Cruz is concerned. . . [read on]

Oh, and in case you were wondering . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/23/obamacare-starts-next-week-whether-the-government-shuts-down-or-not/?wprss=rss_ezra-klein&clsrd 
Obamacare starts next week, whether the government shuts down or not

Runs in the family, I guess

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/09/24/cheney_told_simpson_to_shut_your_mouth.html
Lynne Cheney told former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) to "shut your mouth" about supporting Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) over Cheney's daughter Liz in the U.S. Senate race, the Cody Enterprise reports. . .  [read on]

Interesting nunbers: turnout in blue states was much higher than turnout in red states in 2012 (guess the Mittster didn't exactly inspire people). And turnout in swing states was highest

http://www.ravi.io/voter-turnout

We don't have enough good news in PBD

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/23/un-hiv-rates-on-decline.html
In the course of the past dozen years, the rate of HIV infections has fallen dramatically, according to a new report from the United Nations out today. Since 2001, the number of cases has gone down by 33 percent overall— and 52 percent among children . . .

Bonus item: I understand

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/09/23/obama-on-hot-mike-i-quit-smoking-because-im-scared-of-my-wife/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd
Obama on hot mike: I quit smoking ‘because I’m scared of my wife’

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BOMB-THROWERS

http://washingtonexaminer.com/tempers-flare-inside-gop-as-obamacare-defunding-fight-escalates/article/2536204
Tempers flare inside GOP as Obamacare defunding fight escalates

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/cbs-host-schools-gop-rep-defunding-obamacare
CBS Host Schools GOP Rep. on Defunding Obamacare: 'This Is the Land of What's Real' 

Having lit the fuse, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are making it up as they go in the futile right-wing temper tantrum against Obamacare

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/sen-mike-lee-admits-there-will-be-no-gover
Sen. Mike Lee Admits There Will be No Government Shutdown Over 'Obamacare'

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/cruz-filibuster-house-bill-obamacare
Ted Cruz Announces That He Will Filibuster House Bill That Defunds Obamacare

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/cruz-announces-plan-b-defunding-obamacare-sh
Cruz Announces Plan B for Defunding Obamacare: 'Shut down the Military'

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/cruz-control-by-digby-to-me-this-guy.html
[Digby] To me this guy sounds like a McCarthyite used car salesman, but I can see why the right likes him. He's got an answer for everything and it's always exactly what they want to hear . . .

Hopeful signs in Iran?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/22/1239992/-Threading-the-needle-on-Syria-and-Iran

In case you missed the Sunday talk shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/22/sunday-morning-liveblog_n_3971516.html

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

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I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE NEW CIVIL WAR

Texas gov Rick Perry is targeting blue states, trying to steal industries from them -- partly to promote the Texas economy, partly to damage the Democratic governors from those states. From this, he hopes to build a presidential campaign: based on setting the states at war with each other

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/rick-perry-jobs-backlash-texas-california-illinois-92047.html
Rick Perry faces backlash over jobs raids

More: http://themoderatevoice.com/186242/rick-perry-goes-poaching-for-questionable-reasons/ 
Rick Perry Goes Poaching for Questionable Reasons

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/09/18/rick-perry-texas-maryland-jobs-column/2834245/
Much of this job pilfering has been done by Southern states, which are trying to lure businesses from the North with promises of tax incentives and low-wage jobs. They also promise to keep unions out of the company's business. That's pretty attractive for a company, but not for the workers in the North who lose their jobs, or workers in the South who get low pay and few benefits. . . .

http://www.southernstudies.org/2013/09/corporate-sponsorship-of-rick-perrys-partisan-job-.html
Corporate sponsorship of Rick Perry's partisan job piracy

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/09/21/perry_tries_to_stay_relevant.html
Perry Tries to Stay Relevant 

Remember?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/16/texas-governor-says-secession-possible/
[2009] Texas Gov. Rick Perry isn't ruling out the possibility his state may one day secede from the nation. Speaking to an energetic and angry tea party crowd in Austin Wednesday evening, the Lone Star State governor suggested secession may happen in the future. . .

More: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/22/texas-takes-step-toward-secession-with-rick-perrys-plan-to-hoard-gold/

Ted Cruz, con man

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/09/19/ted-cruz-unmasks-his-own-confidence-game/

Atrios, with a big assist from Joseph Heller, explains why food stamps are creeping socialism, but the rest of the farm bill is not

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2013/09/joseph-heller-covered-this.html
Major Major’s father was a sober God-fearing man whose idea of a good joke was to lie about his age. He was a longlimbed farmer, a God-fearing, freedom-loving, law-abiding rugged individualist who held that federal aid to anyone but farmers was creeping socialism. He advocated thrift and hard work and disapproved of loose women who turned him down. His specialty was alfalfa, and he made a good thing out of not growing any. The government paid him well for every bushel of alfalfa he did not grow. The more alfalfa he did not grow, the more money the government gave him . . . [read on]

Background: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/republican-farm-subsidies-snap-food-stamps
Republican Farm Policy Makes Perfect Sense

Two Democratic ads that are creating big buzz for the upcoming campaign. They are . . . somewhat different . . . in style

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/09/18/everyones-gushing-carl-sciortinos-father-son-campaign-ad/

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/09/13/best_political_ad_of_the_year_so_far.html

The Sunday talk show line-ups

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/sunday-morning-bobblehead-thread-239 
ABC's "This Week" - Reps. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Tom Graves, R-Ga. Roundtable: ormer House speaker and CNN “Crossfire” co-host Newt Gingrich, University of California, Berkeley professor and former Clinton Labor secretary Robert Reich, PBS “NewsHour” co-anchor and managing editor Gwen Ifill, and ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl. Billie Jean King.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Presidential performance roundtable: editor of the Weekly Standard, Bill Kristol; Wall Street Journal Columnist Kim Strassel; former White House Press Secretary, now MSNBC political contributor Robert Gibbs; and PBS’s Tavis Smiley. Sandy Phillips, mother of Aurora, CO shooting victim Jessica Ghawi.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.; Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz. Panel: John Dickerson, CBS News' Political Director, Nancy Gibbs and Bobby Ghosh of TIME magazine and David Sanger of the New York Times.

MSNBC's "UP with Steve Kornacki" - Michelle Bernard, The Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy; Norm Ornstein, columnist & author, “It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism”; Fmr. Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH); Amanda Terkel, Huffington Post; Pat Brady, Former Illinois GOP Chairman; Irin Carmon, msnbc.com national reporter; Carole King, singer & songwriter; Shawna Thomas, NBC News White House producer and avid live-tweeter; Jeff Smith, Professor of Politics & Advocacy at The New School; former state senator (D-MO); Glynnis MacNicol, Business Insider.

CNN's "State of the Union" - Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. New York Magazine reporter Joe Hagan. Panel: Joe Lockhart, former chief spokesman and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton, President of the American Conservative Union Al Cardenas, and CNN Commentators Kevin Madden and Donna Brazile.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - former President Bill Clinton.

Bonus item: Julian Lennon is . . . fifty years old (sheesh!)

http://my.firedoglake.com/elliott/2013/09/21/80876/

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

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I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

THE THREE AMIGOS

How quickly things change. Just a few months ago, the CW was telling us that the GOP had a stable of young, dynamic stars on the rise. The only question was which combination of talent, media savvy, and youthful energy would match up best against saggy old lady Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

But the latest version of the Republican party loves to eat its own (Remember the "Eleventh Commandment"? That's gone forever) -- and suddenly all three are looking like damaged goods . . .

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/cruz-ing-on-empty-ted-exposed-by-shutdown-debacle
In his nine months as a U.S. senator, Texas Republican Ted Cruz has managed to infuriate members of his own party by deriding them as cowards who like to cast meaningless votes. . . .

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/24/rubio-favorability-drops-15-points-among-gop-in-rasmussen-poll/ 
Rubio favorability drops 15 points among GOP

http://wonkette.com/529302/excellent-judge-of-character-rand-paul-wants-gop-to-be-more-like-charlie-sheen-we-guess
“Does anybody remember Charlie Sheen when he was kind of going crazy…And he was going around, jumping around saying ‘Winning, winning, we’re winning,” [Kentucky Senator Rand] Paul said, as quoted by MSNBC. “Well I kind of feel like that, we are winning. And I’m not on any drugs.”

The House loses its mind

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-us-house-of-surreality.html
The House approved legislation on Friday to keep the government open past Sept. 30, but also to eliminate funding for "Obamacare." . . . [read on]

More: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/20/20600530-house-passes-spending-bill-pushes-us-closer-to-shutdown

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/us/politics/conservatives-take-turns-standing-up-to-boehner.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/20/john-boehner-is-being-even-more-irresponsible-than-ted-cruz/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/20/wonkbook-shutting-down-the-government-wont-stop-obamacare-it-might-even-help-it/ 
Shutting down the government won’t stop Obamacare. It might even help it.

Obama responds: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/20/1240245/-Obama-rips-GOP-hostage-taking

Tell it, Norm

http://www.nationaljournal.com/washington-inside-out/congress-s-fiscal-fiasco-forces-americans-to-wear-badge-of-shame-20130918
[Norm Ornstein] As readers of my past columns know, I was not exactly optimistic as we approached crunch time over the debt limit in 2011. But I am far more pessimistic now. At a dinner I attended Monday night with a host of those individuals deeply involved in fiscal matters, it became clear that there are no talks going on now—neither formal nor back channel—to avoid a series of crises over spending and the debt ceiling. The House majority is in profound disarray, unable to muster majorities for anything on the spending front as the new fiscal year approaches.

In a misguided attempt to mollify his radicals and avoid a government shutdown over the demand to abort Obamacare, House Speaker John Boehner has instead turned the focus to the debt ceiling. His earlier assurance that he and his party would not play games with the nation's full faith and credit turned into a pledge weeks ago into to invoke the "Boehner Rule," insisting that the debt limit be raised only by an amount equal to additional new spending cuts—meaning trillions of additional dollars piled on to the $2.5 trillion in cuts already made (but of course with no specifics about what he would want to cut). And it is clear that a slew of Republicans inside Congress, bolstered by forces outside like Heritage Action, will push their crusade to crush Obamacare by holding the debt-ceiling hostage. . . . [read on]

More: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=73BF536B-7628-4040-BF19-E247BD75BDC9

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/20/john-boehners-congress-is-a-train-wreck/?wprss=rss_ezra-klein&clsrd 
John Boehner’s Congress is a train wreck

Blaming Cruz

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/cruz-turns-obamacare-defunding-plan-to-fiasco.html
Ted Cruz Turns Obamacare Defunding Plan From Disaster to Utter Fiasco

More: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/359088/re-cruzs-defense-he-never-said-it-would-work-rich-lowry

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/20/ted-cruz-attacked-gop_n_3963702.html

Nice analysis

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/20/20604020-if-dems-wanted-to-play-hardball-they-could
If Dems wanted to play hardball, they could

Sinking fast

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/20/the-lesson-of-the-food-stamps-vote-party-is-all-that-matters-now/
The lesson of the food stamps vote: Party is all that matters now

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/republicans-we-were-too-nice-to-the-hungry.html 
Republicans: We Were Too Nice to the Hungry, But We’ve Fixed That

The media's failure: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/catapulting-propaganda.html

Theocracy watch: the Bible supports food stamp cuts

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/good-times-in-bible-quotes

Stalin too: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/authoritarians-across-political.html

It's been clear for a while that the Repubs have no intention of passing comprehensive immigration reform. But now it's official

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/09/20/two-republicans-out-of-house-group-of-seven-immigration-talks/?wprss=rss_politics&clsrd

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/09/20/in-blow-to-immigration-reform-house-gang-of-seven-bill-looks-dead/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/20/house-republicans-give-up-on-immigration-reform.html

Everyone who has visited Fox World knows their penchant for dressing up women in short dresses (preferably red dresses), and keeping their bare legs as prominent as possible. (One show, The Five, has a designated seat -- different women, same seat -- to keep their crossed legs constantly displayed across the front of the shot.) Well, now we know it was an actual policy

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/carlson-pants-not-allowed-on-fox-friends.html
Gretchen Carlson: No Pants Allowed

Bonus item: The real danger of Obamacare

http://americablog.com/2013/09/stephen-colbert-gop-efforts-shutdown-govt-over-obamacare.html
Stephen Colbert said on his show last night, “The most dangerous thing about Obamacare is that people might like it.” . . 

More: http://wonkwire.rollcall.com/2013/09/20/how-to-tell-if-obamacare-is-working/ 
How to Tell if Obamacare is Working

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

To get PBD by email: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/todays-news

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***

CRUZIN' FOR A BRUISIN'

What an asshole. Now everybody knows it

http://prospect.org/article/daily-meme-cruzing-bruising 
Ted Cruz has had quite a week. First, Speaker John Boehner announced yesterday that the House would sneak a Obamacare defunding resolution into their upcoming budget bill up for a vote on Friday... a bill that would be certain to fail in the Senate.

Amid much WTF-ing from some of his fellow Senate Republicans, there was much rejoicing from Mr. Cruz. If his favorite pet project ends up shutting down the government, well, it's not the end of the world, folks.

But wait. It seems Cruz may have changed his mind about the feasibility of his grand scheming. Today, he basically said the House bill was a non-starter because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has the votes to strip the anti-Obamacare gobledegook from the Senate version of the budget bill.

Which, unsurprisingly, made conservatives very, very upset.

Cruz quickly tried to recover by saying that he'd pull a Rand Paul and filibuster if the Obamacare Entropy Act doesn't sail through the Senate.

But the damage is already done. One can't simply state facts about the Senate's ideological make-up and expect to retain the support of the far right! One anonymous Republican aide said today, "It is disappointing to see that Wendy Davis has more balls than Ted Cruz."

Another GOP aide said, "Some people came here to govern and make things better for their constituents. Ted Cruz came here to throw bombs and fundraise off of attacks on fellow Republicans. He's a joke, plain and simple."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/house-gop-aide-nancy-pelosi-is-more-well-liked-than-ted-cruz
House GOP aides exchanged angry emails and even cursed at "amateur" Cruz in the cloakroom Wednesday, according to a National Review Online report published Thursday.

“Cruz keeps raising conservatives’ hopes, and then, when we give him what he wants, he doesn’t have a plan to follow through,” one aide said, according to NRO. “Nancy Pelosi is more well-liked around here," said another.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/ted-cruz-shutdown-house-republicans_n_3954461.html
"Cruz officially jumped the shark this week," said one GOP operative allied with House leadership, who, like others, requested anonymity to speak critically about fellow Republicans. "He's doing for the House Leaders what they couldn't do for themselves. House rank-and-file members are uniting with Boehner, Cantor over Ted Cruz's idiotic position." . . .

"Cruz is the leader of a secret cabal of leftists that are seeking control of the conservative movement," quipped one senior House Republican leadership source. "Their aim is to force the party to take on suicidal missions to destroy the movement from within."

More: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/boehner-to-cruz-time-to-put-up-or-shut-up-on-defunding-obamacare

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/19/1240024/-Will-Ted-Cruz-filibuster-his-way-to-disaster

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/truly-in-lord-of-the-flies-territory
Truly in Lord of the Flies Territory

Watch the GOP meltdown . .  and enjoy 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/karl-rove-calls-gop-s-obamacare-defunders-self-defeating
Karl Rove Calls GOP's Obamacare Defunders 'Self-Defeating'

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/09/19/the-morning-plum-panic-sets-in-among-gop-elites/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2013/09/the_republican_party_obamacare_and_the_government_shutdown_the_gop_s_suicide.html

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/19/20577459-when-republicans-attack-each-other
The scuttlebutt says the House GOP will cave in the end, unwilling to suffer the public-relations consequences. Maybe, maybe not. Either way, these divisions are doing lasting damage to a party that can ill afford more humiliating setbacks. . . . [read on]

The GOP Alternative to Obamacare . . . won't work

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/why-the-gop-s-obamacare-alternative-wouldn-t-work-anyway

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/19/the-conservative-obamacare-replacement-doesnt-insure-nearly-as-many-people-as-obamacare/

John Boehner has had so many humiliating defeats that now there's a Top Five

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/john-boehner-s-top-5-most-humiliating-defeats

The House GOP has no time to take up immigration reform, but they did take time out for this

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/19/1240048/-House-passes-food-stamp-starvation-bill-217-210
House passes food stamp starvation bill

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/19/heres-how-the-house-gop-would-cut-39-billion-from-food-stamps/ 

This anti-Obamacare video reveals a sickness in the heart of those who made it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7cRsfW0Jv8

[NB: Of course, the real threat of government intrusion into your vagina is from the right-wing states that mandate vaginal probes:

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/03/transvaginal-ultrasounds-coming-soon-state-near-you

http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2013/03/01/challenges-in-the-trans-vaginal-ultrasound-debate/ ]

Made with Koch money: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/19/20581465-koch-brothers-push-boundaries-of-decency-creepiness

More commentary on the video: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/19/this-is-the-most-outrageous-immoral-attack-on-obamacare-yet.html

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/obamacare-wars-get-weirder-and-more-authentic.html

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/earworms-and-probes-in-nether-regions.html

Bonus item: Kinda liking this Pope Francis guy

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pope-francis-criticizes-obsessed-church-focus-on-abortion-gay-marriage-contraception
Pope Francis Criticizes 'Obsessed' Church Focus On Abortion, Gay Marriage, Contraception

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/19/the-pope-confesses-church-s-obsession-with-gays-abortion.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2013/09/pope_francis_interview_forget_homosexuality_and_birth_control_he_s_a_flaming.html

More: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/pope-francis-abortion-gay-marriage-contraception-greatest-hits.html

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BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR

You just might get it

http://prospect.org/article/shutdown-report-how-play-chicken-and-lose
How to Play Chicken and Lose

http://tinyurl.com/muu4l3a
If you’re in a hurry, and you can only memorize one fact about the coming congressional debt and budget war, try this: There will be no “defunding of Obamacare.” It’s impossible for Republicans to admit it, great energy is being spent to prevent them from admitting it, and large sums of money are being raised and spent to stop conservatives from realizing it. If you want to skip to the end of this drama, past Friday’s likely vote on the resolution that defunds Obamacare, the final page reads “… and Obamacare survived.”

To get to that ending, House Republicans—who really do want to shred the law—have to construct a series of hallucinations. . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/09/18/gop-leaders-postpone-the-inevitable-reckoning/ 
GOP leaders postpone the inevitable reckoning

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/18/1239701/-House-Republicans-pledge-to-delay-Obamacare-after-repealing-it
House Republicans pledge to delay Obamacare ... after repealing it

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/19/the-gop-is-threatening-murder-suicide-with-new-shutdown-warnings.html
The GOP Is Threatening Murder-Suicide

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/09/18/how-ted-cruz-and-mike-lee-just-got-more-than-they-bargained-for/
How Ted Cruz and Mike Lee just got more than they bargained for

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/09/19/house_republicans_angry_with_cruz.html
House Republicans "expressed outrage" with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) when he admitted Republicans did not have the votes in the Senate to defund Obamacare, CNN reports. . . .

A test he failed

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/09/18/conservative_rebellion_over_shutdown_tests_boehner.html
Conservative Rebellion Over Shutdown Tests Boehner

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/18/20562674-house-gop-beats-boehner-into-submission 
House GOP beats Boehner into submission 

More: http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2013/09/18/we-are-now-just-waiting-for-the-crisis-to-ripen/ 

Oh, I bet someone thought this was VERY clever

http://thehill.com/video/house/323261-boehner-asks-why-obama-will-negotiate-with-putin-not-republicans 
Boehner asks why Obama will negotiate with Putin, but not on debt ceiling

The Repubs unveil their Alternative to Obamacare

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/gop-unveils-yet-another-healthcare-non-plan
[Blah, blah, blah . . . . AND] Protects the unborn by ensuring no federal funding of abortions.

More: http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2013/09/18/republican-study-committee-released-their-obamacare-replacement-plan/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/09/18/the-conservative-alternative-to-obamacare-isnt-an-alternative-to-obamacare/
The conservative alternative to Obamacare isn’t an alternative to Obamacare

Go Fed

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/18/fed-to-maintain-stimulus-as-economy-remains-weak/
Markets jump to record highs on Fed decision to keep stimulus 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/09/bernanke-republicans-stupid-monetary-fiscal-policy
Bernanke to Republicans: Stop Being the Stupid Party

Wasn't it just yesterday that he was the GOPers new darling boy? 

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/18/1239775/-Marco-Rubio-chokes-in-new-poll
Marco Rubio

Next up - they will take on "gravity"

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/18/20563804-texas-activists-seek-a-final-blow-against-evolution
Texas activists seek 'a final blow' against evolution 

It was once the Fourth Estate 

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/chuck-todd-not-his-job-point-out-lies-abou
Chuck Todd: Not His Job to Point Out Lies About Obamacare

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/18/obamacare-and-the-media_n_3950692.html

In Fox World 

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/fox-news-ignores-parts-of-poll-it-doesnt-like.html
Fox News Brags About Being the Most Trusted News Channel But Doesn’t Mention ... that it's also the least trusted.

Bonus item: You're not trapped, Phil -- you can quit any time you'd like

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/358876/congressman-obamacare-exemption-go-home-and-talk-your-wife-jonathan-strong
[Phil Gingrey, R-GA] Capitol Hill aides, he said “may be 33 years old now and not making a lot of money. But in a few years they can just go to K Street,” the Washington, D.C., vernacular for becoming a lobbyist, “and make 500,000 a year. Meanwhile I’m stuck here making $172,000 a year.” . . .

***If you enjoy PBD and support what we are doing, you can help by forwarding a copy of this issue to your friends (using the envelope link below) or by sending them a copy of its URL: http://pbd.blogspot.com

To get PBD by email: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/todays-news

I don’t get anything personally out of this project, except the satisfaction of doing it (I don’t run ads, etc.). The credit really all goes to the people whose material I copy and redistribute. But if I do have a “mission,” it is to get this information into the hands of as many people as I can.***