BET Wire: The Shutdown Beats On

GOP blamed for the shutdown; CBC members arrested.

In Case You Missed It - Republicans leave President Obama scratching his head; Ben Carson kind of blames the spread of measles on immigrants; one lawmaker thinks it's OK if your food service worker doesn't wash his hands after a bathroom break — and more. — Joyce Jones (@BETpolitichick)

1 / 14

In Case You Missed It - An Arizona legislator compares President Obama to Hitler, the right wing takes aim at "leftist" Al Sharpton; the shutdown forces the vice president, first lady to cancel travel plans – and more. — by Joyce Jones (Photo: BET)

Jaw Dropping - The good news for congressional Republicans is that it's October 2013 not 2014. In a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 53 percent of Americans blame them more for the government shutdown, while just 31 percent say it's Obama's fault.  (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

2 / 14

Jaw Dropping - The good news for congressional Republicans is that it's October 2013 not 2014. In a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 53 percent of Americans blame them more for the government shutdown, while just 31 percent say it's Obama's fault. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Looking Better - While Americans are losing faith in Republican lawmakers, they are also reconsidering Obamacare. In the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 38 percent said it's a good idea, up from 31 percent in September. In addition, 50 percent said that they oppose defunding the bill even if it results in a partial government shutdown, up from 46 percent in a September CNN poll.  (Photo: AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

3 / 14

Looking Better - While Americans are losing faith in Republican lawmakers, they are also reconsidering Obamacare. In the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 38 percent said it's a good idea, up from 31 percent in September. In addition, 50 percent said that they oppose defunding the bill even if it results in a partial government shutdown, up from 46 percent in a September CNN poll. (Photo: AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)

/content/dam/betcom/images/2013/04/National-04-01-04-15/041113-national-benjamin-carson-drops-out-as-commencement-speaker.jpg

4 / 14

He's a Doctor - Neurosurgeon turned conservative commentator Ben Carson really doesn't like the health care law. “Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing to happen to the nation since slavery,” Carson said at the Values Voter Summit Oct. 11. “And it is slavery, in a way.”  (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for The Jackie Robinson Foundation)

Righting a Wrong - Obama on Oct. 10 signed a bill to provide death benefits to the families of fallen service members during the shutdown. When news broke that the gratuity and other benefits had been suspended, the president pledged to fix the lapse as soon as possible.  (Photo: Pete Souza/Official White House Photo)

5 / 14

Righting a Wrong - Obama on Oct. 10 signed a bill to provide death benefits to the families of fallen service members during the shutdown. When news broke that the gratuity and other benefits had been suspended, the president pledged to fix the lapse as soon as possible. (Photo: Pete Souza/Official White House Photo)

ADVERTISEMENT
Regrets - NFL legend Mike Ditka is wishing he'd run against then-state Sen. Barack Obama in his race for the U.S. Senate. Not challenging him, he now believes, is "the biggest mistake" he's ever made. “Not that I would have won, but I probably would have and he wouldn’t be in the White House,” he told The Dickinson Press.  (Photo: WENN)

6 / 14

Regrets - NFL legend Mike Ditka is wishing he'd run against then-state Sen. Barack Obama in his race for the U.S. Senate. Not challenging him, he now believes, is "the biggest mistake" he's ever made. “Not that I would have won, but I probably would have and he wouldn’t be in the White House,” he told The Dickinson Press. (Photo: WENN)

Targeting Al Sharpton - Truth Revolt, a project of the right-wing David Horowitz Freedom Center, has called for a boycott of advertising sponsors of Rev. Al Sharpton's PoliticsNation on MSNBC. Sharpton is, the group says, "one of the greatest race hoaxers and divisive demagogues of the last half-century." Its first target is Ritz Crackers.  (Photo: TruthRevolt.org)

7 / 14

Targeting Al Sharpton - Truth Revolt, a project of the right-wing David Horowitz Freedom Center, has called for a boycott of advertising sponsors of Rev. Al Sharpton's PoliticsNation on MSNBC. Sharpton is, the group says, "one of the greatest race hoaxers and divisive demagogues of the last half-century." Its first target is Ritz Crackers. (Photo: TruthRevolt.org)

Trash Talking - Republican Arizona state Rep. Brenda Barton is comparing the president to Adolf Hitler. Citing the health care law and gun control, she says Obama is leading the U.S. in the same way that Hitler led Germany, "dictating beyond his authority." She also referred to Obama as "De Fuhrer" in a Facebook post.    (Photo: Courtesy of Brenda Barton) 

8 / 14

Trash Talking - Republican Arizona state Rep. Brenda Barton is comparing the president to Adolf Hitler. Citing the health care law and gun control, she says Obama is leading the U.S. in the same way that Hitler led Germany, "dictating beyond his authority." She also referred to Obama as "De Fuhrer" in a Facebook post.  (Photo: Courtesy of Brenda Barton) 

We're Looking at You, GOP - The American is placing most of the blame for the government shutdown firmly in the Republican Party's corner. An Associated Press-GfK survey released Oct. 9 found that 62 percent hold the GOP responsible, compared to just half who blame Obama or Democrats.   (Photo: Chris Maddaloni/Getty Images)

9 / 14

We're Looking at You, GOP - The American is placing most of the blame for the government shutdown firmly in the Republican Party's corner. An Associated Press-GfK survey released Oct. 9 found that 62 percent hold the GOP responsible, compared to just half who blame Obama or Democrats.  (Photo: Chris Maddaloni/Getty Images)

SPL537986_009

10 / 14

It's Personal - Hip hop mogul Sean Combs says Republicans are using the government shutdown to attack Obama. "It’s clearly a personal attack on the president,” he told thegrio.com. “I think that we live in a place where everybody should get health care. Those guys are still getting paid. It’s not affecting them. I think that it’s unfair."  (Photo: STARPICZ / Splash News)

ADVERTISEMENT
Rebels With a Cause - Congressional Black Caucus members Keith Ellison, Charlie Rangel, John Lewis and Al Green were among eight lawmakers who were arrested on Oct. 8 at a Capitol Hill protest for immigration reform. “My colleagues and I are not afraid to get arrested for what we believe is important to move America forward,” Rangel tweeted.   (Photo: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

11 / 14

Rebels With a Cause - Congressional Black Caucus members Keith Ellison, Charlie Rangel, John Lewis and Al Green were among eight lawmakers who were arrested on Oct. 8 at a Capitol Hill protest for immigration reform. “My colleagues and I are not afraid to get arrested for what we believe is important to move America forward,” Rangel tweeted.  (Photo: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The Past Is the Past - D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, whose first campaign is still the target of a federal corruption investigation, has announced plans to seek re-election. And he doesn't want to talk about his 2010 campaign, either. “I want to talk about the future of this city,” he said at a press conference on the day of his announcement.(Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

12 / 14

We're Not Gonna Take It - An angry D.C. Mayor Vince Gray confronted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the steps of the Capitol on Oct. 9 to demand that Washington be able to access its funds, controlled by Congress, during the shutdown. “We’re not like anything else, we’re a city. We’re simply asking for the opportunity to spend our own money," he said after speaking with Reid.  (Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Was7848580

13 / 14

Staying Home - First Lady Michelle Obama has canceled a fundraising trip to California because of the shutdown. She was scheduled to headline a $32,000-a-head political fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee that was to include an "off-the-cuff" chat with donors, according to the Hollywood Reporter. (Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Haters - Biden lashed out at states that are pushing stricter voting laws. "These guys never go away. Hatred never, never goes away," Biden said. "The zealotry of those who wish to limit the franchise cannot be smothered by reason," he said at a Black History Month event he hosted at his official residence.(Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

14 / 14

He's Not Going Anywhere Either - Vice President Joe Biden has scrapped plans to travel to New Jersey to stump for Newark Mayor Cory Booker's U.S. Senate bid. No reason to guess why: the government shutdown made him do it. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)