“PolitiFact editors and reporters have chosen ‘government takeover of health care’ as the 2010 Lie of the Year. Uttered by dozens of politicians and pundits, it played an important role in shaping public opinion about the health care plan and was a significant factor in the Democrats’ shellacking in the November elections.”

So, about last night… Here’s all you need to know:

Reid and McConnell are now negotiating the terms of a short-term spending bill that can pass unanimously, punting the issue of federal funding into next year when the Republican House will likely demand significant spending cuts.

In other words, if you’re looking forward to a replay of the 1995 Clinton-Gingrich Rumble in the Jungle, time to start stocking up your Netflix queue instead: The 112th Congress hasn’t even begun, and already Democrats are scrambling in fear of a threatened government shutdown.

What failed last night because of shocking! Republican intransigence was the bog-standard annual spending bill, a $1.1 trillion cornucopia festooned with earmarks from both parties, but still meeting Mitch the Turtle’s budget target. (Democrats are adorable for taking Republicans at their word!)

The bill failed — with a majority, of course, because that’s what the Founders wanted.

Read more »

“An activist for a sub-group of the anti-gay group the National Organization for Marriage is speaking out against the use of the rainbow as a symbol for gay rights. ‘We are the real rainbow coalition. The gay lobby does not own the rainbow,’ she said.” [TPM]

Welcome to the Big Leagues, Mr. Speaker-in-Waiting!

While it’s impossible to know, some are beginning to speculate that Boehner’s penchant for turning on the waterworks might have some connection to his consumption of wine. Liberal MSNBC host Ed Shultz, half-jokingly, called Boehner a “cheap drunk” the other day, Capitol Hill aides of both parties are wondering, and there’s even a web page devoted to it.

Finally, something to obsess over besides birth certificates.

John Boehner’s Crying: Is He Drinking Too Much? [AOL]

John Boehner Booze Watch

Is Fox defecting on the “War on Christmas”? [Media Matters]

First Baptist Dallas is collecting casualty statistics from the War on Christmas. A few samples:

• “Even though the restaurant has put up Christmas decorations, if you’re an employee and answer the phone, we have been told to say ‘Happy Holidays.'”
• “Employees would only respond with ‘you too’ when wished a Merry Christmas.”
• “Excessive use of ‘holiday’, no mention of Christmas. With a name like American Airlines, come on.”
• “They refuse to allow the admissions offices at any site to put up anything that may be offensive to those seeking information about the university. That is anything of a Christmas nature.”
• “Though I am a frequent flyer with Delta they did not mind offending me, a Christian, with an email stating ‘Happy Holidays From The Delta Family’.”

Surely somebody can come up with better horror stories than that…

Grinch Alert

“Clay Duke, the man who opened fire on a Florida school board Tuesday, posted a ‘last testament’ on Facebook decrying the wealthy and linking to a slew of progressive sites including theprogressivemind.info and MediaMatters.org.” [TheBlaze]