- Late last night, our 16-day long national nightmare came to a close. Furloughed workers are back to the grind, national parks re-opened, and we can once again see baby pandas all hours of the day.
- There is much consensus that Republicans will hurt most in the two-week standoff's aftermath. The polling supports that frame.
- "Does this mean that Republicans would enter into another shutdown standoff with no fear?" Dave Weigel asks. "That's not how they look at it. They view any attempt to blame them for the shutdown, and not the president, as media bias in concentrate. This shutdown proved them right, and they'll carry that knowledge into the budget battle."
- Amy Davidson agrees. "This is not an end to the drama of Republican dissension."
- (Although some Republicans in Congress would rather we never mentioned this mess ever again. Says Senator Lisa Murkowski, "I'm trying to forget it. Here we are. Here we are. We predicted it. Nobody wanted it to be this way.")
- One thing to be especially wary of? The national debt fearmongers. Paul Ryan decided not to vote for the House's deal because it didn't do enough to tackle debt.The Fix the Debt crowd joyfully chimed in with their own whiny offensive.
- As Jonathan Cohn puts it, "That such rhetoric lives on, zombie-like, is a reminder of how much lies ahead of President Obama and congressional Democrats, even as they relish their victory over Republican hostage-takers."
- The upcoming political wars sure to be brewing don't just feature Republicans versus the rest of the world. The Tea Party is having Mike Nichols-level relationship problems with mainstream Republicans. Radio-show host Steve Deace says, "I don't think you can put Humpty Dumpty back together again. People like me are not just taking marching orders anymore-they actually want something in return for a vote ... This is going to end in divorce. One side is going to win control, one side is going to lose, and the losing side will go do something else. There will not be a reunification."
- Representative Michele Bachmann said last night, "Absolutely, I think it's worth it! It's been worth it because what we did is we fought the right fight."
- Wyoming representative Cynthia M. Lummis said, "I'm not prepared to suggestthat this has been a complete loss."
- Yup, doesn't look like they learned much.
- Senator Chuck Schumer thinks the moderate Republicans stand to take over after this hellish week. "The tactics of the Tea Party-'I'm gonna hurt a lot of innocent people unless I get my way'-this is the first time it was in the spotlight, that the American people saw it. They didn't like it. The Republican Party has learned a lesson here. And I think you're gonna see a more mainstream conservative Republican Party. I don't think we'll have the same kind of brinksmanship on January 15 and February 7."
- Representative Peter King isn't so optimistic this won't happen again: "Uh, I don't know. Hope springs eternal. I don't know."
Daily Meme: The Shutdown's Over. So ... What's Next?
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