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Congress: McConnell: No need for a second 'mule kick'

Mitch McConnell says no more shutdowns over Obamacare: “One of my favorite old Kentucky sayings is there’s no education in the second kick of a mule. The first kick of a mule was when we shut the government down in the mid-1990s and the second kick was over the last 16 days,” he said. “There is no education in the second kick of a mule. There will not be a government shutdown. I think we have fully now acquainted our new members with what a losing strategy that is.”

Political Wire on how McConnell has suddenly changed his tone… in just a month, from originally calling House legislation “perfectly reasonable” to this.

Obama may want to push for immigration, but Trey Gowdy, who chairs the House immigration committee, says, “Good luck” to Democrats in trying to get immigration through the House. USA Today: “House Republicans emerged from the 16-day shutdown fight angered at the White House and Reid for refusing to negotiate over the terms to end the shutdown and lift the nation's debt ceiling. Some say that if the Democrats use the same strategy and refuse to compromise on immigration then the issue will be dead this year.” Said Gowdy: "It's a little disingenuous to treat the House as an irrelevant branch of government and then say, 'By the way, tomorrow you'll need to go ahead and push (immigration reform). It doesn't work that way."

Said Raul Labrador: "It's not going to happen this year. After the way the president acted over the last two or three weeks where he would refuse to talk to the speaker of the House ... they're not going to get immigration reform. That's done."

Of passing immigration reform, Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said, "That would really melt down the conference.”

Reality check: Which party was it that lost 71% of Latinos in the last presidential election? And how does the GOP think it will turn out for them with Hispanics in the next few elections if they are seen as not only causing the government shutdown and taking the country to the brink over the debt ceiling, but also blocking immigration reform – because they are upset that the president wouldn’t negotiate over his health-care law?

Democrats are concerned about Paul Ryan’s no vote on the legislation to open the government and raise the debt ceiling. Roll Call: “Pelosi and Hoyer fear that Ryan’s unwillingness to vote for the Senate-negotiated fiscal package on Wednesday could portend an unwillingness to engage in the kind of frank, bipartisan compromise necessary to finalize a fiscal 2014 budget by the Dec. 13 deadline.”

NBC’s Michael O’Brien looks at the chances of another government in January.

Ted Cruz is blocking Obama’s FCC nominee because he wants less disclosure in political advertising. The Hill: “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), whose efforts to defund ObamaCare helped lead to the government shutdown, is blocking the confirmation of Tom Wheeler, President Obama's nominee for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. A spokesman for Cruz said the senator has placed a hold on the nomination until Wheeler clarifies whether he would require more disclosure about the donors behind political TV ads.” More: Cruz argues the Democrats are trying to use the FCC to implement the goals of the Disclose Act — which would have required political groups to reveal more information about their donors. He and other Republicans claim the bill would have chilled political speech.”