CNN's GUT CHECK | for September 30, 2013 | 5 p.m.
- n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle
BREAKING: OBAMA: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ‘DOES NOT HAVE TO HAPPEN’… Hours before the federal government is set to shutdown, President Barack Obama said late Monday afternoon that Congress’ failure to avert a shutdown would represent the "height of irresponsibility.” “One faction of one party, in one house of Congress, in one branch of government, does not get to shut down the government to fight the results of an election,” Obama said in a statement delivered from the White House press briefing room. "You don't get to extract a ransom for doing your job.”
OBAMA ON OBAMACARE: “You can’t shut it down,” the president said, arguing that the law will be implemented with or without a government shutdown.
THE HOUSE IS NOW ON THE CLOCK: Insisting they will continue the fight over the government spending bill, House Republicans tell CNN’s Dana Bash and Deirdre Walsh the plan is to amend the Senate measure that passed earlier today by adding provisions that would delay the individual mandate in the health care law as well as eliminate federal support for health insurance that covers federal lawmakers, their staff, political appointees and the president. – Tom Cohen
A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR HIT TO ECONOMY: A government shutdown could cost the still struggling U.S. economy roughly $1 billion a week in lost pay by furloughed federal workers. And that's only the tip of the iceberg of the economic impact. – Chris Isidore
MARKET WATCH: Dow falls 126 points as government shutdown looms. Major indexes finish higher for September and third quarter.
TRAIL TRIVIA
(Answer below)
The last government shutdown occurred at the end of 1995. What was the number one movie that year?
MARK (@PrestonCNN), MICHELLE (@mjaconiCNN) & DAN (@DanMericaCNN)
What caught our eye today in politics
It is well known that Americans dislike Congress, but a new CNN/ORC Poll shows the animus towards the legislative branch has reached an all-time low as Republicans and Democrats have failed to find compromise on a new federal budget.
Only 10 percent of Americans approve of the way Congress is handling its job, an all-time low in a CNN/ORC poll. A whopping 87% of Americans disapprove of Congress – an all-time high in a CNN poll. Earlier this month, the congressional approval rating was 20 percent – a disturbingly low number, but not nearly as low as 10 percent.
“The approval rating for Congress has dropped ten points in three weeks,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “We have rarely seen such a big drop in such a short amount of time. It seems pretty likely that this is a reaction to the budget debate and the growing prospect of a government shutdown.”
And it is not just Congress as an institution, but also the respective leaders of the legislative branch. Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who are at the center of this standoff, have seen their personal approval ratings drop to their lowest ever in a CNN poll.
The CNN poll shows that nearly half, 48 percent, of Americans have an unfavorable view of Boehner. In a May CNN poll, only 37 percent viewed Boehner unfavorably.
Reid has also watched his unfavorable rating climb from 38 percent to 45 percent since the question was last asked in a March CNN poll.
When people talk about the American public’s frustration with Congress and Washington, look no further than this poll. The numbers don’t lie.
the LEDE
Did you miss it?
Leading CNNPolitics: Iran nuclear talks are key topic as Obama, Netanyahu meet
President Barack Obama once again finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes, tension-fraught meeting with a key leader from the Middle East. Must be Monday. Just days after a historic phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the U.S. president met with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the White House late Monday morning. – Leslie Bentz and Catherine E. Shoichet
Leading Drudge: Breaking Bad
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Monday morning blasted Senate Democrats for not working on Sunday, even as they continued to warn about the dire threat of a government shutdown. "The Senate decided not to work yesterday," Boehner said in a rare speech on the House floor. "Well my goodness, if there's such an emergency, where are they?"
Leading HuffPo: 'Spoiled Children': Poll Pins Shutdown Blame On Gop
Most Americans would blame congressional Republicans rather than President Barack Obama for a shutdown, and many Americans view the GOP as acting like "spoiled children," according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Monday. – Luke Johnson
Leading Politico: Government shutdown: Harry Reid spearheads Democratic strategy
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has been the most ardent proponent of President Barack Obama taking a hard line with House Republicans in the latest fiscal crisis engulfing Washington. And so far, Reid is getting his way. – Manu Raju and Burgess Everett
Leading The New York Times: With Shutdown Near, Talk Is of Who’s at Fault, Not of a Deal
The Senate was set to reject a budget bill passed by the House that would delay the full effect of the health care law, as both Democrats and Republicans steeled themselves for the worst and tried to assign blame. – Ashley Parker
HOT SOTS
The political bites of the day
– Lawmaker backs stopping congressional pay during a shutdown –
REPUBLICAN REP. DANA ROHRABACHER OF CALIFORNIA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CNN: “Whatever happens to the federal employee should happen to us. When it comes to what we get in benefits – whether it is retirement or health care – and whatever happens to the average federal employee should happen to us, and that rule should not be changed.”
– Republican: Obama will negotiate with ‘terrorist nation’ but not GOP –
REPUBLICAN REP. MIKE POMPEO OF KANSAS IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CNN: “The president treats this today as a sacred text. He says we can't change a thing. I'm not even going to talk to you. I'll talk to a terrorist nation in Iran but I’m not going to talk too duly affected officials in the House of Representatives.”
– Time to move on –
REPUBLICAN REP. CHARLIE DENT OF PENNSYLVANIA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CNN’S DANA BASH: “At this point, the hourglass is nearly empty. I think now it's imperative that we just fund the government, get on with the business of governing.”
– Agencies prepare for shutdown… –
ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER IN A PRESS CONFERENCE: “The issue is a substantial number of people who are in the Justice Department – assuming the dysfunction is not worked out in the House today – are not going to be reporting for work tomorrow. That's going to have a disruptive impact on the work of the Justice Department, We will certainly make sure that national security is protected, on the criminal side our lawyers, investigators will still be in the field but on the civil side and a whole range of others things that the Justice Department is entrusted to do, we will not do the job that the American people expect of us.”
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE CHUCK HAGEL IN A LETTER TO DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STAFF: “If a shutdown occurs, it will affect different parts of our department in different ways. While military personnel around the world would continue to serve in a normal duty status, a large number of civilian employees and contractors would likely be temporarily furloughed.”
– … and so do their workers –
VICK TEMPLE, WORKER FOR THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: “You just sometimes have to put the best foot forward and just hope for the best. But it's just ridiculous that you just have to go through this, this anxiety, each time.”
ELVERA GLEATON, AN EMPLOYEE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE: “I just think that Congress is only thinking about themselves and they're not thinking about the everyday workers who come to work and give all we've got. We haven't gotten pay raises in the last three or four years and we come to work and we're dedicated to the public.”
TOP TWEETS
What stopped us in 140 characters or less
Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree)
Rep Charlie Dent R-PA telling @DanaBashCNN that it's time to just fund the government and move on
Steven Rattner (@SteveRattner)
Irony is that R's are fighting for a CR that would spend more than budget House R's passed in the spring. Deficit cutters?
Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter)
This is not a debate over a government shutdown. It's a debate over what Obamacare is doing to our economy.
Abby Huntsman (@HuntsmanAbby)
Pres. Obama and Paul Ryan stay on sidelines on budget, allowing new players to emerge. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303643304579105722886892960.html
Jon Boorman, CMT (@JBoorman)
Headlines you won't read – $TSLA hits all time high on debt ceiling, govt shutdown fears http://stks.co/tUU6
Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb)
Bumper stickers & T-shirts now proclaim: “I’m from the Elizabeth Warren Wing of the Democratic Party" - a must-read: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/us/politics/warren-is-now-the-hot-ticket-on-the-far-left.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
National Zoo (@NationalZoo)
@minilauren Yes, during a #shutdown, even the panda cam won't be broadcasting online.
Brian Stelter (@brianstelter)
AMC: "Breaking Bad" finale delivers 10.3 million viewers. Previous high was 6.6 million.
TRIVIA ANSWER from @DanMericaCNN
A lot has changed since the government shutdown of 1995 and 1996. Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" was the number one song (where is he now), Monica Lewinsky wasn't a household name and Miley Cyrus had nothing to do with wrecking balls (she was three-years old).
But we digress.
The number one movie in 1995 was the great "Toy Story," a heartwarming film about a child's toys and the lives the lead. Has nothing to do with shutting with the government.
For more on what has changed since 1995, check out this funny list by John Helton and Ashley Killough.
GUT CHECK WINNER’S CIRCLE
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Congrats to Sean Evins (@Evins) for correctly answering today’s Gut Check trivia question.
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