House Dem blames leaders for party switch  —  Democratic Rep. Parker Griffith announced Tuesday that he's switching parties - saying he can no longer align himself “with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy and drives us further and further into debt.”

U.S. Voters Oppose Health Care Plan By Wide Margin, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Say 3-1, Plan Should Not Pay For Abortions  —  As the Senate prepares to vote on health care reform, American voters “mostly disapprove” of the plan 53 - 36 percent and disapprove 56 …

Obama makes ‘surprise’ call to Gov. Kaine  —  WASHINGTON - Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine received an unusual phone call while taking calls on WTOP's Ask the Governor program Tuesday.  —  It was President Barack Obama.  —  Kaine, unaware that caller “Barry from D.C.” would be Obama, reacted with surprise when the president said who he was.

Obama rejects criticism on health-care reform legislation  —  President Obama rejected in an interview Tuesday the criticism that he has compromised too much in order to secure health-care reform legislation, challenging his critics to identify any “gap” between what he campaigned on last year …

Michele Bachmann: Welfare Queen  —  Michele Bachmann has become well known for her anti-government tea-bagger antics, protesting health care reform and every other government “handout” as socialism.  What her followers probably don't know is that Rep. Bachmann is, to use that anti-government slur, something of a welfare queen.

Final Senate healthcare vote set for 8 a.m. on Christmas Eve  —  The Senate will hold a final vote on healthcare reform at 8 a.m. on Christmas Eve.  —  Under Senate rules, the GOP could have insisted that the vote not occur until 7 p.m. but Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) …

EXCLUSIVE: Ex-RNC chiefs rip Steele speaking fees  —  Party chairman charging $8,000 to $20,000  —  Michael S. Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges …

Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too  —  I stopped eating pork about eight years ago, after a scientist happened to mention that the animal whose teeth most closely resemble our own is the pig.  Unable to shake the image of a perky little pig flashing me a brilliant George Clooney smile …

The Diaz-Balarts withdraw Charlie Crist endorsement  —  Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart have pulled their endorsement of Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate.  —  Lincoln offered few details as to why, just that Crist had “left us no alternative and he knows why.”

Ensign, DeMint to Force Vote on Health Care Bill Unconstitutionality  —  Today, U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) and John Ensign (R-Nevada), raised a Constitutional Point of Order on the Senate floor against the Democrat health care takeover bill on behalf of the Steering Committee, a caucus of conservative senators.

Dems Lose Key Recruit  —  Businessman Jack McDonald (D) will drop out of the race against Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) today, robbing Dems of a wealthy recruit in the race against what could be a vulnerable GOPer.  —  McDonald, the former CEO of information technology firm Perficient Inc., will cite business reasons in a statement.

Why I Went on Fox and Friends  —  I notice there is a diary up on Daily Kos attacking me for going on Fox & Friends.  Unsurprisingly, it doesn't say what I actually said:  —  In 2000, the Republicans passed Medicare Part D, and it had no negotiation for prescription drug prices.

Top House Liberal Suggests He Could Accept Deal On Senate Bill  —  In a sign that House liberals may be bracing to swallow much of the Senate bill with minimal changes, a key House progressive suggested in an interview with me that he might be able to support a bill without a public component …

After Coburn Asked Americans To Pray ‘Somebody’ Misses Health Care Vote, Inhofe Skips Today's Roll Call  —  Just before the Senate vote on the first of three procedural motions to move its health care reform bill toward final passage, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) appeared to urge Americans to pray …

Eric Boehlert: Auld Lang Syne: Farewell to another decade of “liberal media bias”  —  It might seem futile to try to select just two quotes from the previous decade and single them out as bookends to illustrate how the political press so often malfunctioned over the last 10 years.

Paul leads big  —  If there was any doubt Rand Paul is a serious candidate for the Republican Senate nomination in Kentucky it can be cast away.  Our first poll of the race finds him leading Trey Grayson 44-25.  —  Paul is, as the conventional wisdom suggests, drawing his strongest support …