Shutdown Stalemate Week Two

At WSJ, "Boehner Ties Deal to Talks on Debt: Speaker Won't Propose End to Standoff Unless Democrats Agree to Broader Deficit Negotiations":

WASHINGTON—The government shutdown enters its second week with the two parties still bitterly divided and Republicans increasingly tying the fight to a fast-approaching deadline to avoid a default on U.S. debt.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said Sunday he wouldn't bring up bills to fully reopen the government or increase the country's borrowing limit unless Democrats agree to broader talks aimed at trimming the deficit. The speaker insisted he couldn't muster enough votes to pass either one without the concessions.

"The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit, and the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us," Mr. Boehner told ABC in his first interview since the shutdown began. "I'm not going to raise the debt limit without a serious conversation about dealing with problems that are driving the debt up."

The fight to this point has centered on Republican demands to delay or dismantle parts of the 2010 health-care law in exchange for funding the government. Now, by pairing the standoffs over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling, the speaker is trying to force President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) to agree to GOP priorities on deficits and federal spending in return for movement on both. The two Democrats have repeatedly rejected GOP attempts to use the mid-October deadline to increase the debt limit as a bargaining chip.

White House officials responded to Mr. Boehner's comments in a series of Twitter messages. Deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Republicans "don't have to give up anything. Just pay nation's bills on time, no strings attached." Mr. Reid challenged Mr. Boehner's view that he lacks the votes to pass a government-funding bill without Republican priorities.

"I think he does," Mr. Reid said via Twitter. "Let the House vote, and we'll find out."

Mr. Boehner faces two challenges from inside his party. Centrist Republicans, eager to fully reopen the government and avoid a default, have already reached across the aisle to explore possible solutions, while conservatives are threatening to turn their back on the speaker if a broader deficit-reduction deal doesn't include changes or delays to the new health-care law.

The tough talk from Mr. Boehner is as much about preserving his leverage with Democrats as it is about keeping Republicans unified. A group of House Republicans—members say there are 15 or more—have expressed frustration with the shutdown and urged party leaders to put the episode behind them. But the bloc has bypassed opportunities to vote against Mr. Boehner, raising questions about whether it would break with party leaders.

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