It’s about the only common thread these days that runs from House Republican leadership down through the rank and file. Most House Republicans privately concede they’re fighting a battle they’re unlikely to win, and to avoid a prolonged shutdown and a disastrous debt default, Washington has to create a package so big that lifting the borrowing limit and funding the government is merely a sideshow.

The players are well-positioned, the current situation is seemingly intractable and both parties want to slice the debt. But the prospect of a grand bargain face both immediate and longer-term hurdles. President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders refuse to negotiate until the government is reopened, and even then, they remain deeply skeptical that a sweeping deal is possible, given the GOP’s opposition to new revenue.

“I want to get a budget agreement,” Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told POLITICO on Wednesday. “That’s what we’ve been about all along. So yeah, we think the issues are converging — [the continuing resolution] and debt limit — and from the get-go, we wanted to get a budget agreement to grow this economy and get this debt under control, especially before the Federal Reserve starts raising interest rates. I think it’s in our nation’s interest to do that. And that’s one of the things we’re fighting for in addition to relief from Obamacare — or fairness from Obamacare.”