US Shutdown Day 12, A Lot of Talk, No Action

Before Friday nobody was talking, now everybody is talking and there's more than one deal under discussion and Obama seems to be shopping for the best deal.  Quite a change from what has been going on before. 

GOP lawmakers from both chambers are expressing confusion and frustration with how their colleagues across the Capitol are approaching talks with the White House, with many thinking their respective camp should be in the lead.

"There's plates spinning everywhere. Everybody's now trying to work on this," said Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), a member of House GOP leadership. "It's just confusing to try to figure out what's the deal that's actually getting traction."  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the House has the right idea with its plan.

"I see the House is much more serious about putting together a package to open up the entire government and make changes to ObamaCare to lessen the pain," Graham said.

But other Senate Republicans expressed confusion more than anything else about the House approach, which saw multiple tweaked offers come over the last several days, and scant details about what they entailed.

Asked if she backed the House plan, Sen. Kelly Ayotte said she wasn't exactly sure what it was.

"I'm not sure what their plan is. I would need to know what it is," she said.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Friday he also was befuddled by the House GOP's strategy.

Late Friday, there was news that one of the positions put forth by the House wasn't going to fly.

President Obama is rejecting a key element of House Republicans’ latest proposal to extend the federal debt ceiling, opposing a linkage between a short-term increase and negotiations on the budget, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday.
Briefing reporters after financial markets closed for the week, Carney welcomed a “new willingness” among congressional Republicans to open the government and avoid default, but he said the president would not agree to tie budget negotiations to a six-week debt-limit extension.  “It is our view that we cannot have a situation where the debt ceiling is extended as part of a budget negotiation process for only six weeks, which would put us right back in the same position that we’re in now,” Carney said.