Congress Shuts Down the Government; Booker Attacks Lonegan in New Ad; McAuliffe's Clinton Fundraiser

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • The first shutdown of government agencies in almost two decades became a reality overnight, as the House and Senate were unable to pass a stop-gap funding measure by the start of the new fiscal year Tuesday. (National Journal Daily)

  • House Speaker John Boehner "has privately warned House Republicans that they could lose their majority in 2014 as a result of shutting down the government." (Politico)

  • In the NJ SEN Special, Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) "is hitting" former Bogota Mayor Steve Longean (R) "as 'too extreme'" in a new TV ad, "which begins airing" Tuesday "on broadcast television in both of the state's major media markets," New York and Philadelphia. (Newark Star-Ledger)

  • Bill and Hillary Clinton hosted a fundraiser for former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe's (D) VA GOV campaign on Monday at their home in Northwest D.C. (Daily Caller)

  • Midland University president Ben Sasse (R) reportedly raised "nearly $750,000" for his NE SEN campaign in the third quarter, an impressive sum that "confirmed that Sasse will be a leading contender in a 2014 GOP race featuring four candidates who should be able to tap considerable financial resources." (Lincoln Journal Star)

  • Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D) announced Monday that the SEIU Maryland-DC State Council had endorsed him over Attorney General Doug Gansler (D) for MD GOV. (release)

  • Early names mentioned as potential candidates to replace Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), who announced his retirement on Monday, include state Sens. Scott Beason (R), Cam Ward (R) and Slade Blackwell (R); state Reps. Paul DeMarco (R), David Standridge (R) and Jack Williams (R); orthopedic surgeon Chad Mathis (R) and conservative blogger Cliff Sims (R). (BirminghamNews)

NUMBER BRUNCHING

  • According to a new CNN/ORC International poll of national adults, conducted Sept. 27-29, 44% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, while 53% disapprove. In the previous poll, conducted Sept. 6-8, 45% approved of Obama, and 52% disapproved. (release)

  • According to a new Quinnipiac University poll of national RVs, conducted Sept. 23-29, 45% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, while 49% disapprove. In the previous poll, conducted July 28-31, 46% approved of Obama, and 48% disapproved. (release)

  • The Quinnipiac poll shows Democrats leading the 2014 House generic ballot, 43-34%. In the previous poll, conducted July 28-31, Democrats led, 40-36%. (release)

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• The latest sign of the GOP lock on the House, regardless of the blow-back from the government shutdown: Nine swing-district Democrats joined with most Republicans in supporting the budget resolution appointing conference committee members and affirming the Obamacare delays and elimination of health care subsidies for some government employees passed in earlier resolutions. That list included Steven Horsford (in a 54% Obama district) and Dan Maffei (57% Obama).

• Here's another sign: Not only did a planned GOP moderate revolt against the last House CR fail, the moderate members who opposed the rule in the hopes of forcing a clean CR vote were actually outnumbered by conservatives voting against the rule. (As Paul Broun tweeted, that's because the bill only delayed Obamacare implementation instead of permanently defunding the law.) Unless the pressure of a shutdown convinces moderate Republicans to do something drastic, they look to have little power in the House GOP right now.

• There's one name that's been conspicuously absent in the budget negotiations of the last few days: Mitch McConnell's. And the resulting shutdown could be great news for Alison Lundergan Grimes, depending on how McConnell plays the tough hand he's been dealt. If he comes riding in on a white horse as he did during the fiscal cliff talks, Grimes will have a tougher time sticking him with the "Sen. Gridlock" label. But such a deal will also open him up to further attacks from Matt Bevin, Jim DeMint, et al.

• Democrats' 9-point lead on Quinnipiac's generic ballot is their largest since 2009, but it's worth noting that their lead in '09 led to tremendous losses a year later. Moreover, other polls don't yet show Democrats with that kind of advantage in 2014. The shutdown and debt ceiling fights may yet scramble the race to control Congress after next year's elections, or they might just be blips on the radar. But one poll isn't enough evidence to draw any conclusions about the current state of play, let alone how things might change over the next 13 months.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "I shouldn't have to offer anything. They're not doing me a favor by paying for things that they have already approved for the government to do. That's part of their basic function of government; that's not doing me a favor." -- Obama, asked by NPR's Steve Inskeep what he can offer in negotiations with Republicans (NPR News)

  • "I talked to the president earlier tonight. [Imitating Obama] 'I'm not going to negotiate, I'm not going to negotiate, I'm not going to do this.' Well, I would say to the president: this is not about me, and it's not about Republicans here in Congress. It's about fairness for the American people." -- Boehner, on the House floor Monday night (Speaker.gov)

  • "House of Turds" -- The "wood" of Tuesday's New York Daily News, photoshopping Boehner in place of Kevin Spacey.

  • "Not 'essential': Shutdown would hit FEC hard" (Center for Public Integrity)

  • New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), who for years "has kept his weekend whereabouts secret," says he will leave the city for a vacation the day after his successor is inaugurated. Bloomberg: "I haven't had a vacation in 12 years. ... [Girlfriend] Diana [Taylor] and I will be here on [Jan. 1] for the inauguration of my successor, and on the 2nd, we're out of here for two weeks." (New York Times)

  • New York City mayoral nominee Bill de Blasio (D) "had never discussed" his father's death until Monday, when he acknowledged that his father, "a World War II hero whose life careened out of control because of alcohol, took his own life after being diagnosed with terminal cancer." (New York Post)

  • "The ladies love his flirting, it is true, but the one who loves it the most is Jeanne Shaheen. Every time he bats an eye, she cashes a check. He needs to make his intentions clear or turn his big, brown eyes elsewhere." -- The New Hampshire Union Leader's editorial board, on former Sen. Scott Brown's (R-MA) flirtations with running for Senate in New Hampshire.

  • "Today Republicans won a major victory against the mainstream media." -- RNC chairman Reince Priebus, after CNN and NBC canceled their documentary bio-pics of Clinton. (Brietbart News)

  • "I still believe that Mrs. Clinton has many virtues including great intelligence, fortitude, and a deep commitment to bettering the lives of women and children worldwide. But this is not her finest hour." -- CNN filmmaker Charles Ferguson, who said he canceled the project because of a lack of cooperation from the Clintons, not pressure from Republicans or CNN. (Huffington Post)

PLAY OF THE DAY!

ROOSTER'S CROW

  • Today's weather, from the National Weather Service: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.

  • All national parks are closed, including the National Zoo and Virginia's Skyline Drive. The Smithsonian museums are also closed. (AP)

  • East Potomac, Langston and Rock Creek Golf Courses are also closed.

  • The Senate returns at 9:30 a.m.; the House is back at 10 a.m.

  • Campaign Legal Center president/general counsel Trevor Potter and Democracy 21 president Fred Wertheimer discuss McCutcheon v. FEC "and its impact on campaign finance regulations." (National Press Club, 10 a.m.)

  • The Reds and Pirates play a one-game playoff with a NLDS berth on the line. (TBS, 8 p.m.)

  • Have an event for us to highlight? Email us!

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Obama, Clinton and Franklin Roosevelt are the last three presidents never to serve in the military.

  • The winner is Anthony Foti, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Name the city and state that boasts the Guinness record for the world's largest strawberry shortcake?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"It's kind of an insult to lemmings to call them lemmings, so they'd have to be more than just a lemming, because jumping to your death is not enough." -- Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), who "likened the hard-line, conservative members of his conference to 'lemmings with suicide vests.'" (New York Times)

...CHASER

A fun way to spend your morning, particularly if you're a non-essential employee.

Josh Kraushaar, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor