Wow. We Won. Spending Bill Dead

That’s right. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid abandoned efforts to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill and instead extend current funding. He simply didn’t have the votes.

The most wonderful thing about this is that the billion dollar funding of Obamacare is gone. The new Congress will have a much easier time defunding it now. Not to mention that I don’t think earmarks will have a chance at being included.

Remarks from Republican leader Mitch McConnell:

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “And so what we ended up with, Mr. President, was this, this almost 2,000-page omnibus appropriation bill which we only got, it was yesterday? Yesterday. And so the point here is the work that the Appropriations Committee did in many respects was squandered because the full Senate didn’t do its job. And this is precisely the kind of thing the American people have gotten tired of. And so I think the message we ought to take out of this is that next year we’re going to listen to the American people, we’re going to do our work, do it in a timely fashion.” (Sen. McConnell, Floor Remarks, 12/16/10)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): “Now, there’s only one reason why cloture is not being filed and the Majority Leader, to his credit, already said it — he doesn’t have the votes. And the reason he doesn’t have the votes is because members on this side of the aisle increasingly felt concerned about the way we do business.” (Sen. McConnell, Floor Remarks, 12/16/10)

Also, a massive bipartisan tax package (the one the Democrats in the blogosphere have been howling about because it keeps Bush tax cuts for everyone for two years) was passed. It now goes to the President for signature. This is the bill where I said Pres. Obama was doing the right thing. He went against his base, but it may save his Presidency. If the economy gets better, experts will point to this bill. This bill was very bipartisan. Each party contributed an almost equal number of votes in favor. Democrats, 139, Republicans, 138.

Basically this was a win/win for the American people.

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