Dave Weigel explains the looming government shutdown and why for both Democrats and Republicans "there's no point in compromising before the very last second":
Democrats did not pass a budget in 2010, and this impasse would have been avoided if they had. It's also true that Democrats have blinked on enough spending measures that, as one GOP aide told me, there's a real path to an agreement. All that Republicans need to do is abandon some policy riders, like the bans on funding for Planned Parenthood and NPR, and voila—Democrats will cave. And that's where things look like they're headed, so it's important for Republicans to go into a deal sounding like the victims.
Talk of a shutdown gives new relevance to a Onion classic, "Cat Congress Mired In Sunbeam."
The Dish 