The republican dam holds

From the looks of it, Harry Reid and the democrats have backed away and realized that this pig of a bill won't fly in the face of the people. I certainly hope that the change of heart was at least in some part influenced by the people call and writing and demanding that the nonsense be stopped. But in the interim, it looks like the republican dam has held.

Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill

The top Senate Republican has offered a one-page bill to prevent a government shutdown on Saturday as an alternative to a 1,924-page catchall spending measure offered by Democrats.

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell says it's unbelievable that Democrats want to pass the measure in just a few days as Christmas approaches. He says Congress should pass a less costly bill next year—when Republicans will have more leverage.

McConnell had earlier quietly backed the effort to produce the nearly $1.3 trillion bill, but he's now trying to kill it. McConnell also obtained $85 million in so-called earmarks for Kentucky.

Democrats say they'll take up the bill later Thursday. It bankrolls every Cabinet agency for the budget year that started Oct. 1.