Pass the Bill  —  A message to progressives: By all means, hang Senator Joe Lieberman in effigy.  Declare that you're disappointed in and/or disgusted with President Obama.  Demand a change in Senate rules that, combined with the Republican strategy of total obstructionism, are in the process of making America ungovernable.

End It Today, Ben  —  There's a really big snowstorm coming to D.C.tonight.  It would be unsafe to ask all the staffers and Hill employees who'd be needed at the Capitol if Congress stays open all hours this weekend, as Harry Reid intends, to drive to and from work—especially since …

Obama speech fuels frustration at Copenhagen  —  US president offers no further commitment on reducing emissions or on finance to poor countries  —  Barack Obama stepped into the chaotic final hours of the Copenhagen summit today saying he was convinced the world could act “boldly and decisively” on climate change.

Ben Nelson: Bill covers too many uninsured people, must be scaled back  —  Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) gave one hell of an interview yesterday to Lincoln, Nebraska's KLIN-AM radio, expanding his ‘cloture ransom’ to include more than just massive new restrictions on abortion.

Coburn defends the Party of No; Durbin blasts “styptic-hearted Republicans;” Update: Video added  —  On the Senate floor a few minutes ago, GOP Sen. Tom Coburn gave a rousing defense of the “Party of No.”  —  “We're accused of being the party of no,” he said.  But “no is a wonderful word.

Reid to unveil final offer on healthcare bill on Saturday morning  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will make his final offer on healthcare legislation on Saturday morning, unveiling a highly-anticipated amendment to the Senate healthcare bill.  —  Reid will unveil his amendment …

How to Manufacture a Climate Consensus  —  The East Anglia emails are just the tip of the iceberg.  I should know.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Few people understand the real significance of Climategate, the now-famous hacking of emails from the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit (CRU).

Flashback: McCain Refused To Grant 30 Seconds Of Time During Iraq War Debate  —  Yesterday, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), acting on the orders of the Senate leadership, refused to grant Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) “an additional moment” to continue speaking on the Senate floor after his 10 minutes expired.

Pelosi, Rahm do not scare Rep. DeFazio  —  Rep. Peter DeFazio's phone rang.  On the other end was Rahm Emanuel.  —  The White House chief of staff last month expressed frustration with DeFazio's resignation calls for President Barack Obama's top two economic aides — Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner …

Democratic congressman from North Carolina angers supporters by voting against health-care bill  —  KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — To voters in this hard-luck town where stable factory jobs and the health care that came with them have long since disappeared, change looked good a year ago.

What Lieberman has wrought  —  Joe Lieberman's reckless decision to blow up last week's compromise has had exactly the impact many of us predicted.  Much of the left has flipped into vicious, angry opposition to the bill.  Is that because the Medicare buy-in, a good but limited policy, has disappeared from the bill?

Harvard Swaps Are So Toxic Even Summers Won't Explain  —  Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Anne Phillips Ogilby, a bond attorney at one of Boston's oldest law firms, on Oct. 31 last year relayed an urgent message from Harvard University, her client and alma mater, to the head of a Massachusetts state agency that sells bonds.

Ben Bernanke and the Pringles Problem  —  Health care aside, I really think we need more focus on the fact that the nation's top economic policymaker recently said something extremely problematic that doesn't at all appear to have been a “gaffe” or a mistake.

Specter, Toomey Deadlocked In Pennsylvania Senate Race, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Obama Gets Good Score On War, Bad Marks For Health Care  —  Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter and Republican challenger Pat Toomey are deadlocked 44 - 44 percent in Pennsylvania's marquee 2010 U.S. Senate race …

Most influential person of the decade  —  Which of these nominees had the greatest influence in shaping the past decade, either by changing how we live or by making the greatest impact on our culture?  Cast your votes now and we'll reveal the winner on Monday, Dec. 21st.  Want to nominate someone else?