NEW YORK TIMES: … “The House should hold that vote today,” Mr. Obama said. “If Republicans and Speaker Boehner are saying there are not enough votes, then they should prove it. Let the bill go to the floor and let’s see what happens. Just vote. Let every member of Congress vote their conscience and they can determine whether or not they want to shut the government down. My suspicion is, my very strong suspicion is, that there are enough votes there.”
Turning up the pressure, Mr. Obama added, “The reason that Speaker Boehner hasn’t called a vote on it is because he doesn’t apparently want to see the government shutdown end at the moment, unless he’s able to extract concessions that don’t have anything to do with the budget.”
Like other federal agencies, FEMA is operating with reduced staff — 86 percent was furloughed, according to its chief, W. Craig Fugate, though some were temporarily called back to deal with storm response efforts, and the rest are working for now without pay. The agency has been busy coordinating with state and local governments to prepare for and respond to violent storms in the Midwest and Tropical Storm Karen… (more)
When is the president and the democratic party going to really negotiate (which may – horrors of horrors – include some actual concessions on their part!!!) with the republicans so we can get SOMETHING DONE!!!??? This has become a laughable affair between two parties that are BOTH losing the respect of their constituents, as well as the greater world at large.
EDITOR: We don’t subscribe to a concept of ‘equivalency’. Sometimes one side is correct and the other is wrong. Paying bills is an obligation; not an option. The time to object is when the expenditures are being approved.