Vicious Obama #Democrats and Risks of #Shutdown

The Dems want this shutdown and they'll spare no pain to enforce it.

Here's the lead story at Memeorandum right now, from WSJ, "White House's Hard Line on Shutdown, Debt Ceiling Has Risks Attached":

The two quotes from Washington today that all Americans should be aware of. pic.twitter.com/MAYDzNOR1Q

— Kathleen McKinley (@KatMcKinley) October 4, 2013

President Barack Obama is sticking to his stance that he won't negotiate with Republicans over the government shutdown or the higher-stakes fight over the federal debt ceiling.

The question, for Republicans and White House allies alike: How long will that resolve last?

Mr. Obama spoke Thursday at a construction company just outside Washington and held fast to his view that Republicans must not attach conditions to bills that underpin the functioning of government.

"There is one way out," he said: Republicans must relent and reopen the government.

White House officials believe they have the upper hand, citing evidence that some Republicans are buckling under public pressure. Mr. Obama invited the four congressional leaders to the Oval Office Wednesday, and despite the show of engagement made no concessions, according to people familiar with the meeting.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) left the White House and said Mr. Obama "reiterated one more time tonight that he will not negotiate."

Terry Holt, a longtime Republican strategist, said Mr. Obama's strategy rests on a cold-eyed calculation that Republicans are the ones with the most to lose. "As long as the president thinks his poll numbers are going to be good, I don't expect the government to reopen," he said.

Said a senior administration official: "We are winning...It doesn't really matter to us" how long the shutdown lasts "because what matters is the end result."

White House allies, however, say a long shutdown could make the White House's position less tenable. Mr. Obama is the most visible symbol of the U.S. government, they say, and will inevitably share in the blame as hardships mount and people weary of the infighting.

Already, the shutdown has produced images of inconvenience, lost pay, and disruptions in wedding and vacation plans. The Republican National Committee has offered to cover the cost of keeping open the World War II memorial for the next month after a group of veterans toured the site even though it was closed due to the shutdown.

"To the extent that any blame washes onto the Democrats and the president, it's going to be from the sense that this town is just completely dysfunctional and it's everybody's fault," said Matt Bennett, senior vice president of Third Way, a center-left think tank.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner, said: "Ultimately, politics in Washington is a reflection of the president's leadership. People expect their president to be the grown-up in the room, and he's not even in the room."

Mr. Obama said Thursday people should resist the impulse to blame both sides equally.

Also at Legal Insurrection, "Democrats trapped by their seething hatred of Tea Party."