The Beat Goes On

++The Senate voted 100-0 for cloture so they can debate the House bill. This was after Senator Cruz said such vote was for funding Obamacare. Naturally, he voted along with his colleagues. There is still a far way to go before we are near anything like funding the government for a whopping two months.

++John McCain resented Cruz' analogy of not defunding Obamacare to those who appeased Adolf Hitler.

++The new debt ceiling deadline is October 17. Over 170 House Democrats wrote a letter to President Obama demanding a stand alone vote. After the budget agreement, I would like Obama to raise the debt ceiling by himself and let the courts decide.

++Immigration reform is not dead yet. Rep. Goodlatte from Virginia says he will bring a bill to the House floor this year but without a path to citizenship, even though 11 million undocumented workers could get green cards. Some immigration reform advocates are gaming this idea out to see whether in fact such undocumented workers could then get citizenship. The House is committed not to go into conference with the Senate on their immigration bill. Stay tuned.

++The vitriolic anti-Obamacare e-mails have tapered off today because the news about premiums being offered by the exchanges have stalled the momentum until someone can figure out a new hook. That is why the House going after the individual mandate is crucial for tea baggers so as to inflate the premiums. As it is ,since the Affordable Healthcare Act passed,premiums have only increased at a rate below the inflation--for the first time in 50 years. Kaiser reports that businesses will now save billions on COBRA. Conservatives made much of the delay in the employer mandate, saying it signified the administration's admission of failure. But, the delay only affects 500,000.

++Repeat after me--Social Security has nothing to do with either the deficit or the national debt. You will hear it often until the 2014 elections.

++Also,The SNAP or foodstamp program gives back $1.79 for every $1 in foodstamps. The average period of being on foodstamps is one year. And,despite cries by the Right to make everyone work who receives foodstamps, the vast majority--over 70%--already do.

++Going into the 2014 mid-terms, the GOP appears in disarray without any policy initiatives.