Countdown: GOP Unity Frays As Shutdown Grows Near

[Purveyor]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican unity showed unmistakable signs of fraying Monday as the Senate swatted aside the latest tea party-driven demand to delay the nation's health care overhaul in exchange for averting a partial government shutdown at midnight.

Even in advance of the 54-46 party-line Senate vote, the stock market dropped as fears spread that the first shutdown in 17 years would inconvenience millions and harm the economy. "We're at the brink," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., as House GOP leaders calculated their next move.

Ironically, the issue at the core of the dispute, implementation of key parts of "Obamacare," will begin Tuesday on schedule, shutdown or no.

As lawmakers squabbled, President Barack Obama urged them instead to "act responsibly and do what's right for the American people."

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BUDGET_BATTLE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-09-30-14-47-58

[ladjf]

1. Senator C. Shimmer just said on MSNBC that there were enough votes in the House now to pass

a clean CR. If that is true, then Boenner alone is standing in the way of the Democratic process and should be disciplined in the Courts of this Country. If the law allows such behavior . it needs to be changed quickly.