Dean Baker

Co-director, CEPR; author, 'The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive'

The problem is that the Democrats still seem to accept the Republicans' parameters for the budget debate. The implication is that current deficits are a serious problem.

Bill Moyers and Michael Winship

If you want to see how grossly money can distort democracy, just go to the state of Virginia, where there are no limits on how big a check can be written for statewide office. Groups and individuals from outside the Old Dominion are taking full advantage.

Ethan Rome

Executive Director, Health Care for America Now

America's leading conservative think tank has issued a report on health care premiums under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and it bears a strong resemblance to the immigration study -- it's garbage.

Sen. Barbara Boxer

U.S. Senator from California; Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

How much more pain and uncertainty do Americans have to endure before Congress decides that it should pay the bills it has racked up? Businesses and families must always pay their bills and so must Congress.

Jason Sattler

Executive Editor, National Memo

Cruz's relentless angling to make himself the breakout star of the Senate reality show does have a benefit for Republicans.

Michael A. Hardy

General Counsel/EVP, National Action Network

Now that the first government shutdown in 17 years is over, many are talking about the civil war that has erupted in the Republican Party. While this is a fight among Republicans, voters must be mindful and watchful as to how it will impact the nation as a whole.

Joe Conason

Editor-in-chief of NationalMemo.com

The shutdown alone reduced economic activity in the United States by at least $24 billion and cut growth in the current quarter by as much as 0.6 percent. But that is just the beginning of a much grimmer inventory of suffering.

Anita Sinha

Practitioner-in-Residence, American University, Washington College of Law

The nomination of Jeh Johnson could be a telling choice for the direction of DHS.Johnson's background renders him more of a natural fit for the security and counter-terrorism functions of DHS, but there are other vital jobs of the agency.

National Council of La Raza

The largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States

There is no more time for excuses. Too much of the nation's time and money has been wasted for the sake of scoring cheap political points. Americans are tired of partisanship and obstruction and want a government that is going to produce solutions.

Bertha Lewis

President of The Black Institute & Former CEO of ACORN

New York is the only state other than North Carolina to prosecute 16- and 17-year-olds as adults. Of those that are sentenced to adult prison, 80 percent are black and Latino.

Chris Weigant

Political writer and blogger at ChrisWeigant.com

No matter how big a bump in the road this seems now, it will in time be forgotten if the program itself is ultimately successful. But that shouldn't excuse finding out who was really responsible for such a disastrous rollout.

Robert Kuttner

Co-founder and co-editor, 'The American Prospect'

America's very rich keep trying to start a movement among college students to blame senior citizens for the sorry state of the economy that kids will inherit. Specifically, the billionaires keep trying to scapegoat Social Security.

Mike Lux

Co-Founder, Democracy Partners

Big bank executives are finally starting to sweat. Having gotten away for many years with relatively tiny, slap-on-the-wrist fines where they got exemption from any future legal action, a big $13 billion fine with no criminal side settlement is a different ballgame entirely.

Joan Garry

Nonprofit consultant and activist

He decided to lose and be done with it. He stood zero chance of winning if he kept fighting. The longer the battle, the bigger the loser.

Sec. Kathleen Sebelius

Secretary of Health and Human Services

It has been three weeks since the start of the new Health Insurance Marketplace, where Americans can find quality, affordable health coverage. The launch of the Marketplace website has been rocky but we are working tirelessly to make the online process better.

Dylan Ratigan

New York Times Best-Selling author, entrepreneur and formerly the host of MSNBC's The Dylan Ratigan Show

We need to be thankful for the lumbering old patriarch that is our current electoral finance and candidate selection process. It has guided us through many generations successfully. But the time has come to accept and collaborate on an updating of this system.

Steven Cohen

Executive Director, Columbia University's Earth Institute

Now that we've managed to reopen the federal government, and have somehow wrested control away from the media attention junkies that kept it closed, it is time to assess the damage done. The threatened default's effect will be slow and corrosive.