Story highlights "I don't care who wins the battle. I want the government to reopen," GOP Rep. King says

Lawmakers continue to talk over each other; Obama weighs in on Day One of shutdown

Agencies begin furloughs that could eventually impact up to 800,000 workers

Aides: GOP plans again to bring up bills in House to fund programs piecemeal

While up to 800,000 federal workers faced life without a paycheck as Day One of the government shutdown kicked in, Democrats and Republicans persisted in talking past each other without actually talking to each other to end the nation's latest fiscal crisis.

The Republican-led House offered its latest gambit on Tuesday night but failed in separate votes to approve piecemeal funding for three specific programs -- the District of Columbia, veterans affairs and national parks.

The votes required a two-thirds majority for passage, which would have required hefty Democratic support. That did not materialize, though House leadership aides say the plan is to bring up the same measures again Wednesday in a way that would require only a simple majority to pass.

Aside from conservative political calculations that calling these votes would put their ideological foes in a tough spot, it appears they'll have little practical impact since the Democratic-led Senate wasn't about to acquiesce and the White House promised a veto.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid derided the strategy as "just another wacky idea by tea party Republicans," a clear example of the rhetorical firefights that have marked the latest pitched battle over spending. This one has been fueled by GOP efforts to condition any continued funding of the government with the elimination -- or at least the delay -- of Obamacare.

Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – The Statue of Liberty looms over visitors below on Liberty Island in New York Harbor on Sunday, October 13, 2013. The statue was closed to the public by the federal government's partial shutdown that began October 1, 2013, but reopened Sunday after the state of New York agreed to shoulder the costs of running the site during the shutdown. Hide Caption 1 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Empty tables overlooking Seal Rocks are seen inside the closed Cliff House on Wednesday, October 9, in San Francisco. The 150-year-old oceanside icon was ordered closed by the National Park Service for the duration of the partial government shutdown, leaving most of the restaurant's 170 employees without work. Hide Caption 2 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Boaters gather to protest the closure of Everglades National Park waters on October 9 near Islamorada, Florida. About a third of the 2,380-square-mile park encompasses Florida Bay and has been closed to Florida Keys guides and recreational fishermen since October 1. Hide Caption 3 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A camping party at the Dolly Copp campground in Gorham, New Hampshire, on October 9 is told that the park will close on Thursday, October 10, at noon. The privately run campground in New Hampshire's White Mountains National Forest was forced to close ahead of the lucrative Columbus Day weekend because of the federal government shutdown. Hide Caption 4 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Rick Hohensee holds a "Fire Congress" sign near the House steps on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, October 8. Hide Caption 5 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Officers stand at the base of stairs leading to the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, October 7. Hide Caption 6 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Tourists take photos at a barricade blocking access to the World War II Memorial in Washington on Sunday, October 6. Hide Caption 7 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – River runners make camp in a dirt parking lot in Marble Canyon, Arizona, after being unable to access the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry on Saturday, October 5. Hide Caption 8 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A closure sign is posted on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Thursday, October 3. Hide Caption 9 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Tourists take photos of the Statue of Liberty while riding a tour boat in New York Harbor on October 3. The statue is adminstered by the National Park Service and is closed as a result of the government shutdown. Hide Caption 10 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A single security guard patrols the closed Lincoln Memorial in Washington on October 3. Hide Caption 11 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A U.S. Capitol police officer walks past a statue of Gerald Ford in the rotunda on Tuesday, October 1. The Capitol is closed to tours because of the government shutdown. Hide Caption 12 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Barricades around the World War II Memorial in Washington prevent people from entering the monument on October 1. The memorial was temporary opened to veteran groups who arrived on Honor Flights on a day trip to visit the nation's capital. Hide Caption 13 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – World War II veteran Russell Tucker of Meridian, Mississippi, stands outside the barricade as he visits the World War II Memorial in Washington on October 1. Hide Caption 14 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – World War II Veteran George Bloss, from Gulfport, Mississippi, looks out over the National World War II Memorial in Washington, on October 1. Veterans who had traveled from across the country were allowed to visit the National World War II Memorial after it had been officially closed because of the partial government shutdown. Hide Caption 15 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A park ranger secures a road at the entrance to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial on October 1 in Keystone, South Dakota. Hide Caption 16 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A visitor takes a picture of a sign announcing the closure of the Fort Point National Historic Site due to the partial government shutdown on October 1 in San Francisco, California. Hide Caption 17 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Visitors to Independence National Historical Park are reflected in the window of the closed building housing the Liberty Bell, on October 1 in Philadelphia. Hide Caption 18 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Hot Springs National Park employee Stacy Jackson carries a barricade while closing Arlington Lawn in Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas on October 1. Hide Caption 19 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – The Washington Monument is seen behind a chain fence in Washington, on October 1. Hide Caption 20 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A National Park Service ranger finishes putting up a sign indicating all facilities at the Martin Luther King Historic Site are closed to the public in Atlanta, on October 1. Hide Caption 21 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A Capitol police officer walks through the empty Capitol Rotunda, closed to tours during the government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, on October 1. Hide Caption 22 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – An employee at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Springfield, Massachusetts, puts up a sign on October 1, to notify visitors that the site is closed because of a government shutdown. Hide Caption 23 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A U.S. Park Service police officer stands at the closed Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington on October 1. Hide Caption 24 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A man looks into the closed Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington on October 1. Hide Caption 25 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A U.S. park ranger places a closed sign on a barricade in front of the World War II Memorial in Washington on October 1. Hide Caption 26 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Park police and Park Service employees close down the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall on October 1. Hide Caption 27 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Members of the U.S. National Park Service close the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington on October 1. Hide Caption 28 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A U.S. park ranger posts a closed sign at the Lincoln Memorial on October 1. Hide Caption 29 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – People look at a sign announcing that the Statue of Liberty is closed in New York on October 1. Hide Caption 30 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – Fencing around the World War II Memorial prevents people from entering the monument on the National Mall in Washington on October 1. Hide Caption 31 of 32 Photos: Government shutdown of 2013 Government shutdown of 2013 – A U.S. park service police officer stands guard at the entrance of the closed Lincoln Memorial on October 1. Hide Caption 32 of 32

JUST WATCHED Obama won't give in to 'reckless' demands Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Obama won't give in to 'reckless' demands 02:45

JUST WATCHED The view from the White House Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH The view from the White House 08:14

JUST WATCHED Rand Paul on shutdown Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Rand Paul on shutdown 06:28

Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – The game is the same, but many of the players have changed. Congress and the president are facing off in another supreme spending showdown. This last happened in 2011, when Congress avoided a shutdown by passing a spending measure shortly after the midnight deadline hit. Who controls what happens this time? Take a look at the key players who will determine how this fight ends.



-- From CNN Capitol Hill Reporter Lisa Desjardins. CNN's Deirdre Walsh and Ted Barrett contributed to this report. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina -- The architect. During Congress' August recess, the tea party-backed freshman wrote to Republican leaders suggesting that they tie dismantling Obamacare to the funding bill. Though initially rejected by GOP leadership, 79 of Meadows' House colleagues signed on to the letter, which quoted James Madison writing in the Federalist Papers, "the power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon ... for obtaining a redress of every grievance." --The architect. During Congress' August recess, the tea party-backed freshman wrote to Republican leaders suggesting that they tie dismantling Obamacare to the funding bill. Though initially rejected by GOP leadership, 79 of Meadows' House colleagues signed on to the letter, which quoted James Madison writing in the Federalist Papers, "the power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon ... for obtaining a redress of every grievance." Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio -- The coach. He'll make the key play call. The top Republican leader in the land may be the most important player in the days immediately before a possible shutdown. Boehner could decide whether to push through the Senate's version of a spending bill and keep government running, or he could float a third version with some other Republican wish list items in it. If he takes the second option, Boehner could risk a shutdown but could also force the Senate into a tough position: give House Republicans something or send federal workers home. Timing on all this will be critical. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas -- The revolutionary or rabble rouser, depending on your viewpoint. The tea party firebrand could lead a long filibuster on the Senate floor, delaying passage of a spending bill until just one day before the deadline on Monday, September 30. Cruz has stoked the anti-Obamacare flames all summer, but recently angered fellow Republicans by openly saying that the Senate does not have the votes to repeal the health care law. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida -- Senator to watch. The potential presidential candidate has been one of three senators (Cruz and Mike Lee, R-Utah, being the others) pushing to use the government shutdown debate as a way to repeal or defund Obamacare. But watch his actions and language as a shutdown nears to see if he digs in or if downshifts at all. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada -- The man steering the ship in the Senate. Master at using Senate procedure to his advantage, Reid is the main force in controlling the voting process in the chamber and ensuring that an attempted filibuster by tea party-types fails. The majority leader will be a primary negotiator if we reach phase three, if the House does not accept the Senate spending bill. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky -- If Reid steers the ship, McConnell controls the headwinds. Which is good news for Reid, at least initially. The Republican leader and several of his members say they will vote against Cruz's filibuster and in favor of a spending bill with no limits on Obamacare. Meaning, in favor of a bill that just funds government. McConnell generally has been leery of running into a shutdown or default. In fact, one legislative method for avoiding default is named after him. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington -- The consigliore. Murray, center, does not seek the outside limelight, but the Senate Budget Committee chairwoman is a major fiscal force behind the scenes on Capitol Hill. Known by fellow Democrats as a straight shooter, she is also an experienced negotiator, having co-chaired the laborious, somewhat torturous and unsuccessful Super Committee. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Tom Graves, R-Georgia -- The new militia leader. The freshman congressman from Georgia, second from right, is one reason the debate has reached this point. Graves led the charge that blocked the original proposal by House Republican leaders. That would have kept government funded and had a detachable portion on Obamacare. Instead Graves and other conservatives forced their leaders to pass a spending bill with a mandatory defunding of Obamacare. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Peter King, R-New York -- The blunt statesman. King is outspoken against many tea party tactics, calling the move to tie Obamacare to the must-pass spending bill essentially a suicide mission and Cruz "a fraud." He is pushing for Republicans to accept a more "clean" spending bill that can pass the Senate and avoid a shutdown. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce -- The heavy. Donohue is known for his deep connections and his aggressive lobbying on behalf of business. He and the Chamber are urging Republican lawmakers to avoid a shutdown. The Chamber is an important political backer for conservatives, but has had mixed success with the current Congress, locking in firm anti-tax positions but unable to push through immigration reform so far. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Michael Needham, president of Heritage Action -- The driving force. Needham runs the political offshoot of the conservative Heritage Foundation and has been unrelenting in urging lawmakers to repeal Obamacare. He has told Republicans not to fear a potential shutdown, saying they would suffer more politically from allowing Obamacare to continue. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – President Barack Obama -- The campaigner and CEO. Expect the president to use his podium more as a shutdown nears, aiming at public opinion as Democrats in Congress position themselves. If House Republicans send back a new proposal close to the September 30 deadline, the president and Democrats will have to decide what move to make next. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia -- The powerful lieutenant. Cantor, the House Republican No. 2, is much more closely allied with conservatives and tea party members in the House than is Speaker Boehner. The two have not always agreed on every strategy during potential shutdown debates, but have been in public lockstep during the current go-around. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland -- Players on deck. The top two House Democrats are mostly watching and waiting. But they will play a critical role once Boehner decides his next move. They could either bring Democratic votes on board a deal or be the loudest voices against a new Republican alternative. Hoyer will be interesting to watch; he has strongly opposed both the House and Senate plans as cutting too much in spending. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California -- The numbers guy. McCarthy, the House whip, has the tricky job of assessing exactly where Republican members stand and getting the 217 votes it takes to pass a bill in the chamber. He is known for his outreach to and connection with many of the freshmen House members who align with the tea party. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin -- Member to watch. The vote of the House budget chairman and former vice presidential nominee is an important signal both within Republican ranks and to the public at large. Ryan has voted against some funding measures in the past, including the emergency aid for Superstorm Sandy recovery. But he was a "yes" on the last extension of the debt ceiling. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: Photos: Key players in the shutdown debate Key players in the shutdown debate – Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida -- Another member to watch. A former committee chairwoman (Republican rules have term limits for committee chairs), Ros-Lehtinen knows House politics and procedure inside out. Depending on the issue, she has been described as a conservative or moderate, and occasionally as a libertarian. Hide Caption 18 of 18

Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – A Park Service police officer stands guard in front of the Lincoln Memorial during a partial shutdown of the federal government in November 1995. Many government services and agencies were closed at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996 as President Bill Clinton battled a Republican-led Congress over spending levels. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – An employee hangs a sign on the door of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington on November 14, 1995, marking the start of the government shutdown. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – A tourist peers out a ferry window at the Statue of Liberty on November 14, 1995, as a small group of visitors wait on the dock to board the vessel. No passengers were allowed off the boat as both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were closed after federal workers were sent home. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee holds up a chart showing the differences between Republican and Democratic budgets as Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, left, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole stand by during a press conference on Capitol Hill. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – A police officer walks through the empty Statuary Hall in the Capitol on November 15, 1995. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – The national debt clock in New York is stopped during the government shutdown in November. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – President Clinton speaks about the federal budget impasse from the Oval Office on November 16, 1995. The first part of the budget shutdown ended on November 19 when a temporary spending bill was enacted. But Congress failed to come to an agreement on the federal budget, leading to a second shutdown starting December 16. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – UPS workers deliver letters to members of Congress on November 28, 1995. The letters were written and sent by members of the Coalition For Change, a nonpartisan organization devoted to balancing the budget. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – A speaks to demonstrators at the Capitol Rotunda on December 7, 1995. Evangelical leaders from around the country held a prayer session to call on legislators to treat the poor justly during welfare reform and budget negotiations. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Livingston, right, holds a "closed" sign outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington on December 18, 1995. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – A security guard informs people that the passport office is closed at the Federal Building in Los Angeles on December 18, 1995. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – Rep. John Boehner dumps out coal, which he called a Christmas gift to President Clinton, during a news conference about the federal budget on December 21, 1995. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – Karen Bishop chains herself to colleagues during a rally at the Federal Building in San Francisco on January 3, 1996. The workers claimed they were in servitude to the government as hundreds of thousands of federal employees were either furloughed or had to work without pay. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – Food service employees at the Veterans Hospital in Miami line up to receive food rations on January 3, 1996. Many federal employees faced financial hardships during the shutdown. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – Tourists line up outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington on January 5, 1996. It was one of the few government buildings open during the shutdown thanks to the assistance of private funds. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – People trying to apply for visas at the U.S. consulate in Paris on January 5, 1996, are told that the building is closed because of the U.S. budget crisis. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – Rep. Thomas Davis III, R-Virginia, attends a rally in Washington on January 5, 1996, urging the end of the government shutdown. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: Photos: The last government shutdown The last government shutdown – Tourists view Yosemite National Park in California after it re-opened on January 6, 1996. Early that morning, President Clinton signed Republican-crafted legislation to restore jobs and provide retroactive pay to government workers while he and Congress continued negotiating how to balance the federal budget. Hide Caption 18 of 18

JUST WATCHED Tea Party reacts to shutdown Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Tea Party reacts to shutdown 03:31

President Barack Obama weighed in Tuesday, the start of the fiscal year, by lambasting the Republicans for being "reckless" in their apparent willingness to take down the government in order to take down the law overhauling major aspects of health care coverage. He championed the law, signed it in 2010, then saw it upheld by the Supreme Court last year.

Saying the shutdown's goal is to hinder government efforts to provide health insurance to 15% of the U.S. population that doesn't have coverage, the president said it was "strange that one party would make keeping people uninsured the centerpiece of their agenda."

"Republicans in the House of Representatives refused to fund the government unless we defunded or dismantled the Affordable Care Act," he said, flanked by people who the White House said had benefited from the health care reform.

Reid, for one, indicated he's open to working with the House on budgetary matters -- "but not with the government closed" and not by making it all about the legislation widely known as Obamacare.

Until then, he and other Democrats pushed for the House to pass a "clean" spending plan to fund the government for a few months before negotiating over parts of the health care law.

First shutdown in nearly 18 years

The latest shutdown was not the first for the government. The last time it happened, 18 years ago during the Clinton administration, the stalemate lasted 21 days.

Now, the House and Senate have both refused to budge from their visions for the budget and, beyond that, health care reform.

The Senate began its day on Tuesday by rejecting a GOP counteroffer that would have delayed Obamacare for a year and ended federally provided health care for the president, members of Congress and their staffs while funding the government for 11 weeks.

The House GOP plan also called for a conference committee, which usually results from competing legislation from the two chambers on major issues, rather than a short-term continuing resolution intended to keep the government running for a few weeks.

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, a leading liberal voice, told CNN that he is open to negotiations with the House on at least one specific provision of Obamacare -- a tax on medical devices that some in both parties oppose.

However, Durbin echoed the position of Reid that such negotiations must be separated from the spending impasse that has shut down the government.

On the Republican side, Rep. Darrell Issa of California told CNN that he could vote to fund the government for a few days or weeks to provide time for a conference committee to work out a compromise.

Even if there was somehow an agreement for a month, Congress would have another crisis on its hands: whether or not to raise the debt ceiling by October 17, when the U.S. government is set to run out of money to pay creditors unless it increases how much it can borrow.

Writing in USA Today, House Speaker John Boehner dug in his heels saying "there is no way Congress can or should pass such a bill without spending cuts and reforms to deal with the debt and deficit."

Yet Obama offered no indication that he'll budge. Noting that such Republican brinkmanship in 2011 led to the first-ever downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, he said he "will not negotiate over Congress' responsibility to pay bills it's already racked up."

"I'm not going to allow anybody to drag the good name of the United States of America through the mud just to refight a settled election or extract ideological demands," the president said. "Nobody gets to hurt our economy and millions of hard-working families over a law you don't like."

'The rest of the country thinks we're crazy'

At the heart of the issue is the insistence by House Republicans that any spending plan for the new fiscal year include anti-Obamacare amendments. Senate Democrats are just as insistent that it doesn't.

Obamacare isn't directly tied to funding the government. But it's so unpopular among the Republican tea party conservatives that they want it undercut, if not outright repealed. For instance, this week Republican Rep. Todd Rokita of Indiana called it "one of the most insidious laws known to man."

Both Democrats and Republicans say that a clean spending measure -- with no Obamacare amendments, as urged by the president and his allies -- would pass the House with support from the Democratic minority and moderate Republicans.

Veteran GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona noted that any attempt to repeal Obamacare was going to fail because of Obama's veto, which would require a two-thirds majority in the Senate to overcome. And GOP Rep. Peter King of New York said the problem is tea party conservatives tied to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas who "really care about nothing but their own agenda" driving the Republican approach in the House.

"We have people in the conference, I believe, who'd be just as happy to have the government shut down," said King, who has been among the Republican legislators pushing for a "clean" funding bill without anti-Obamacare provisions. "They live in these narrow echo chambers. They listen to themselves and their tea party friends. That keeps them going, forgetting that the rest of the country thinks we're crazy."

However, Boehner has succumbed to pressure from the tea party right to avoid a vote that would pass something without causing some harm to the health care reforms.

Speaking in the early minutes of the shutdown, the Ohio Republican insisted the House voted "to keep the government open" and assure "fairness for all Americans under Obamacare" -- then walked away from the podium.

White House spokesman Jay Carney told CNN such intransigence is the root of the shutdown, noting that conservative Republicans such as Rokita are the only ones pushing a political agenda for meeting the congressional responsibility of passing a budget.

Amid the finger-wagging and fulminating, major components of the new health insurance law went into effect on schedule on Tuesday.

"The Affordable Care Act is moving forward. You can't shut it down," said a post on Barack Obama's verified Twitter feed.

A blow to the economy

The shutdown of the government -- the country's largest employer -- isn't happening all at once.

Federal employees who are considered essential will continue working. Those deemed non-essential -- up to 800,000 -- could be furloughed, unsure when they'll be able to work or get paid again.

The shutdown could cost the still-struggling U.S. economy about $1 billion a week in pay lost by furloughed federal workers. And that's only the tip of the iceberg.

While many agencies have reserve funds and contingency plans that would give them some short-term leeway, the economic effect would snowball as the shutdown continued.

The total economic impact is likely to be at least 10 times greater than the simple calculation of lost wages of federal workers, said Brian Kessler, economist with Moody's Analytics. His firm estimates that a three- to four-week shutdown would cost the economy about $55 billion.

Initial market reaction around the world indicated little serious concern for now. In New York, all the major indexes were higher on Tuesday after closing lower the day before. World markets also rose, while the dollar slipped against other major currencies.

Troops, congressional paychecks safe

Although much of the federal workforce will go without pay, checks will keep coming to the 533 current members of Congress. The president too will get paid. His salary -- $400,000 -- is considered mandatory spending.

Some members of Congress and government officials have said they will donate their salary to charity during a shutdown.

Members of the military will also get paid -- thanks to Congress, which unanimously managed to come together to pass a bill that Obama signed.

But it's uncertain how the shutdown will affect veterans, including the 3.3 million who are disabled. If the shutdown stretches into late October, the Veterans Affairs Department could have to halt disability and pension checks for elderly and ill veterans.

"That's what they need to pay rent, to pay food," said Tom Tarantino of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "It's not their total income, but it is a significant part of it."

Public reaction

According to a CNN/ORC poll, 68% of Americans think shutting down the government for even a few days is a bad idea, while 27% think it's a good idea.

And it appears most Americans would blame congressional Republicans for a shutdown: Sixty-nine percent said they agreed with the statement that the party's elected officials were acting like "spoiled children."

Democrats, however, weren't far behind: Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they, too, were acting like spoiled kids.

Another poll showed public support for Congress at record low levels -- at 10%.

King, the New York Republican, said there's plenty of blame to go around -- from Cruz, whom he called a "fraud," and his tea party allies to the president for not being more engaged in resolving this crisis.

"Let him say he won the battle," King said of Obama. "I don't care who wins the battle. I want the government to reopen."