Obama admonishes Republicans on 'ideological crusade'

Surrounded by beneficiaries of the federal health law, President Barack Obama blamed Republicans for the government shutdown, noting the law's insurance marketplaces had opened for business even as most of the federal government had shut down.

The New York Times: Obama Urges Republicans To Drop Health Law Fight
Flanked by new beneficiaries of his health law, President Obama on Tuesday publicly admonished Republicans in the House to "reopen the government" rather than continue to block federal spending to battle the three-year-old Affordable Care Act (Calmes, 10/1).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Obama Blames Shutdown On House GOP's 'Ideological Crusade' Against Health Care Law
President Barack Obama says House Republicans have shut down the federal government over an "ideological crusade" against his health care law. Obama is speaking in the Rose Garden on the first day of the government shutdown. He says the longer the shutdown continues, the worse the impact will be (10/1).

Los Angeles Times: Obama: Amid Shutdown, Obamacare Is 'Open For Business'
President Obama on Tuesday blamed Republicans for the government shutdown, noting the "irony" that the health care program they were trying to kill is "open for business." "This shutdown isn't about spending or deficit or budgets," Obama said. "This shutdown is about rolling back our efforts to provide health insurance to folks who don't have it. This, more than anything else, seems to be what the Republican Party stands for these days." The president's remarks came shortly after noon EDT in the Rose Garden, as the White House went into a partial shutdown along with the rest of the federal government (Parsons and Hennessey, 10/1).

Reuters: Obama Spotlights Health Care Launch As Republicans Try To Block It
President Barack Obama spotlighted the opening day of sign-up for his landmark health care program on Tuesday, noting that it is taking place although Republicans in the U.S. Congress have shut down the government because they oppose the law (Felsenthal, 10/1).