The end of the shutdown, Booker wins in New Jersey, and do Americans want a third party? – US blog round up for 12 – 18 October

Chris Gilson looks at the best in political blogging from the Beltway and across the States. Government shutdown and the debt ceiling This week, the U.S. government shutdown continued along with the continuing threat that the country might reach, and exceed, its debt limit on the 17th. On Saturday, The Hill’s Congress blog says that the shutdown has opened up a larger debate about the role and size of the government, and may have provided a ‘roadmap’ for identifying taxpayer funded programs and services that Washington could potentially live without. On the other side of the debate, Crooks & Liars has five charts that show why the US does not have a debt crisis. Meanwhile, Doug Ross has five reasons why the GOP will win the shutdown. On Sunday, Outside the Beltway reports that negotiations in the Senate to open the government and raise the debt ceiling had stalled because of the Democrats’ new focus on the 2011 sequestration cuts.