Here are a couple of good pieces on what is going on behind the scenes regarding the shutdown, and why it is mainly the Tea Partiers causing all the troubles -
Good tidbits like Reid wanted to send the country over the fiscal cliff back in Dec/January which is why they had to send Biden to resolve that one. Another good one is that Reid and Boehner actually had a deal back in September, but Boehner wasn't able to push it past his own party.
Looks like Reid is really out for blood. Will they need to send Biden in behind the scenes to get it resolved again?


If Boehner had balls he'd either force a vote and end the shutdown, or resign since he's the majority "leader" in name only. He's lost his ability to deliver on the deal he and Reid agreed to in September.
Obama is saying, "Look, we can't negotiate with you because you can't deliver Republican votes on any deal you and I agree to, like the deal we agreed to in September."
When Boehner said yesterday that, "Obama won't negotiate" what he was saying to his own party is, "Look, the only way to end this thing is we (the GOP) end it, so now he needs to make a bunch of demands so he can come away with something to show for the hardships his party is inflicting on all Americans.