Did You Know...

The NSRC sends along its latest holiday video, which ends: “If you thought our singing was bad . . .Just wait until the Democrats get their hands on your paycheck next year.”

The Hill reports on the stalemate:

Congress has been brought to a grinding halt by hardening Democratic and Republican stances on taxes and spending just days before lawmakers begin leaving Washington for Christmas and New Year’s.

The two sides are, in some cases, refusing even to speak to each other about the massive omnibus and an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) bill.

Senate Republicans refused to meet Democrats Tuesday on spending and House Democrats rejected the Senate’s AMT “patch,” preparing a new version paid for with corporate tax increases.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) countered the majority’s plans with a proposal that would require Democrats to accept virtually all of President Bush’s demands on spending.

McConnell demanded that Democrats also provide $70 billion for the war with no strings attached.

Frustration boiled over in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Bush “is impossible — and has been for seven years — to deal with.”

Reid sought to portray senior White House adviser Ed Gillespie as an incarnation of Karl Rove and a mastermind of intransigence.