News Nuggets 1308

DAYLEE PICTURE:  The Jal-Mahal in India.  From National Geographic.

Obamacare so in Demand that Sites are Overwhelmed from Daily Kos
"The federal site, where people from the 36 states that refused to set up their own exchanges will be signing up, has been deluged by requests. More than one million people hit the federal exchange site, HealthCare.gov, in the past 24 hours, "five times more users than ever have been on the Medicare.gov website at one time." That's put a strain on the site, and for many it hasn't worked. Likewise, the phone lines have been overwhelmed."

Everything You Need to Know about Life under Obamacare (Ezra Klein and Sarah Kliff) from the Washington Post
"The law itself touches on everything from how hospitals are reimbursed for care to whether chain restaurants post calorie counts on their menus. But, generally, by "Obamacare" most people mean the provisions of the law that relate to the efforts to insure about 30 million Americans through subsidized private insurance or government-provided Medicaid."

Our Democracy Is at Stake (Thomas Friedman) from the New York Times 
"What we’re seeing here is how three structural changes that have been building in American politics have now, together, reached a tipping point — creating a world in which a small minority in Congress can not only hold up their own party but the whole government. ... When extremists feel that insulated from playing by the traditional rules of our system, if we do not defend those rules ... then our democracy is imperiled."

In D.C., Compromise is a Dirty Word (and Should Be) (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"Republicans devoted much of the day to protesting that Democrats “won’t even sit down and have a discussion” (House Speaker John Boehner) and “literally just voted against working out a compromise” (McConnell). They were absolutely right: Democrats weren’t making the slightest effort to compromise. And if Democrats continue not to budge, everybody — even conservative Republicans — will someday be grateful."

The Nullification Party (Andrew Sullivan) from The Dish
"Those who keep talking as if there are two sides to this, when there are not, are as much a part of the vandalism as Ted Cruz. Obama has played punctiliously by the constitutional rules – two elections, one court case – while the GOP has decided that the rules are for dummies and suckers, and throws over the board game as soon as it looks as if it is going to lose by the rules as they have always applied."

The Two Basic Facts That Should Be in Every Shutdown Story (James Fallows) from the Atlantic
"These two points are why the normal D.C.-poohbah moanings about the need for compromise do not apply. The Democratic administration, and a sufficient number of Republicans, already agree and are ready enough to compromise to solve this problem. If the normal machinery of democracy were allowed to work, the manufactured crisis would be over."

Poll Indicates GOP Has Been Deeply Damaged By Shutdown Fight from Talking Points Memo
"Republicans in Washington insist they have simply been upholding the wishes of the American people throughout their efforts to block the Affordable Care Act, but a poll released Tuesday tells a very different story. In fact, the latest survey from Quinnipiac University contains a ton of bad news for the GOP. For starters, 72 percent of Americans said they are opposed to shutting down the government in an effort to block implemntation of the health care law. A poll last week also showed a wide majority opposed to shutting down the government over Obamacare."

Democrats Go Nuclear on John Boehner (David Graham) from the Atlantic 
"Leaked emails show that before the House speaker demanded an end to health-care subsidies for congressional staffers, he worked behind the scenes to procure them."
These leaks clearly target the fissures within the GOP.  All along, the Dems (and Obama especially) have made marginalizing the Tea Party wing of the GOP one of their key goals for 2013.

The Night the GOP Cracked Up (Molly Ball) from the Atlantic
"Last-minute machinations in Congress failed to avert a shutdown, but they illustrated the deep divisions that are making Speaker John Boehner's life hell."

GOP Braces for Shutdown Fallout from Politico
"Despite a firm belief that the public is on their side in opposition to Obamacare, there is palpable fear among Republicans on Capitol Hill that they will not be rewarded for taking such a tough stand against the law, which helped lead to the first government shutdown in 17 years early Tuesday. And there is even deeper concern that President Barack Obama won’t give any ground in the battle over his signature legislative achievement and House Speaker John Boehner will eventually capitulate, leaving Republicans with little to show for after a raging political fight."

Why the Shutdown Looks So Bad for the GOP (John Dickerson) from Slate 
"Not only are they taking the blame, but the Republican party’s divisions, fissures, and personal animosities are taking center stage. ... To simply claim that this process is the normal way of doing things is absurd. When you have decided to take extraordinary measures, you just have to hope people cut you some slack because the extraordinary measures were worth it. But after you've pulled the tablecloth out and scattered the cutlery, it's hard to then say, “OK, let's continue with our nice meal.”"

Vulnerable Republicans: End the Shutdown from Politico
"Some House Republicans facing perilous paths to reelection in 2014 are beginning to budge on the government shutdown, calling for the party to compromise and move on from its fight over defunding Obamacare."

Here's A Tally Of Which House Republicans Are Ready To Fund The Government, No Strings Attached from the Huffington Post
"Less than a day after the government shut down, House Republicans are slowly but steadily coming forward to say they're ready to just pass a bill to fund the government with no strings attached.  Here's who they are, and why they say they're done with trying to force through provisions to delay or defund Obamacare in order to keep the government running. We'll update the list if and when more come in."

Peter King: I Did My Best to Fight the Cruz Crazies (Michael Daly) from the Daily Beast
"Peter King attempted to lead a moderate coup against the Republican leadership. He tells Michael Daly why he could no longer stand by and watch the crazies in his party damage the country."

United Democrats Stand, Divided Republicans Fall (Jonathan Cohn) from the New Republic
"There are no signs of similar dissension among Democrats. In fact, listening to the speeches, it’s impossible to notice how united the party is right now. That reflects effective leadership, for sure. But it also reflects something else: a shared sense of disdain and outrage over what the Republicans are doing."

VOLCANO PHOTO NUGGET!!

Fire and Lava Spew from Hawaiian Volcano in Extraordinary Images that Look Like Scenes From Another Planet from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Kilauea, the most active of the five volcanoes on Hawaii, has been erupting continuously since 1983.  Daredevil photographer Sean King scrambles to within inches of molten lava to capture the amazing images."