My must read of the day is "Senate leaders close in on deal to end budget standoff" in the Los Angeles Times:
Details remained in flux, but Senate aides said the plan would give the government authority to borrow to pay its bills into February and would reopen federal agencies until Jan. 15.
In the meantime, to prevent another shutdown, a House-Senate committee would negotiate an overarching budget agreement by Dec. 13 that would allow Congress to pass its regular bills to fund the government.
The proposal would not make significant changes in President Obama's healthcare law. But it could include a pair of tweaks: the delay of a new tax opposed by labor unions and an income verification requirement for customers who buy insurance through the new online marketplaces.
So to sum it up, the deal will please the unions that make up a large chunk of Democratic donations and votes. It will also adhere to a provision that was initially outlined in the health care law, but was then delayed by the administration.
Explain to me how this shutdown hasn’t been a waste of time?
This was purely symbolic, and I don’t buy the argument that it was beneficial to the Republican Party or to Americans because it raised awareness about Obamacare and showed which lawmakers are "really" against the laws. What this has been is a two-week tantrum that’s ending in Republicans being sent to their room.
It has distracted from the roll out problems the Affordable Care Act is having, and it has not resulted in any meaningful changes to the law. This effort was not a smart plan because it never had much of a strategy beyond rhetoric to "fund everything except Obamacare." The proposed deal reflects that.