Roger Simon looks at the Congressional Democrats trying to block the Obama-McConnell tax-cut-extensions-for-everybody-whether-they-need-them-or-not bill, and draws the only possible conclusion: Democrats hate rich people, and want everyone else to hate them too.

Larry Summers made his swan song yesterday, and he didn’t give an inch. Speaking at the Economic Policy Institute, where he didn’t have a very favorable audience, Summers insisted that the actions of the Obama Administration were necessary and positive, and that the country was spared the worst expected effects of the Great Recession. The best outcome of that speech would be if it were the last one Summers ever gave. Or at least, the last one any respectable human would bother listening to.

It seems like the value of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s freedom, like all other goods, declines the closer you get to Christmas. Cheney better hope that Nigeria ratifies this deal soon though, because you never know what happens to goods left on the shelf after the holidays.

Ed Towns will give up his post as the Democratic ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, setting up a potential battle for that spot, opposite Darrell Issa, who has promised vigorous and probably endless oversight of the Obama Administration.

Now that federal judge Henry Hudson has just struck down the individual mandate in the new health care law, the case will likely end up before the Supreme Court. While I suspect, in the end, the constitutionality of the individual mandate provision will be upheld, this individual mandate is not critical. There are many alternative ways to deal with the potential issue of individuals who might try to save money by delaying the purchase of insurance until they get sick that would meet the requirements set forth in Judge Hudson’s ruling.

The single most important thing that House Democrats could demand, in exchange for the tax cut bill’s passage, is an increase of the debt limit inside the package. It would in effect protect whatever stimulus you might get out of the bill, and deny Republicans another hostage-taking event.

A month ago, Brad Miller and a dozen other Congressmen — including House Financial Services Committee Chair Barney Frank — wrote the Financial Stability Oversight Council to ask that they look into the systemic dangers of foreclosure fraud. Timmeh Geithner just responded to that letter. His response makes it clear he actually read Miller’s letter — because he references the first item I’ve laid out above, though rather than actually respond to that request, he describes what the FSOC is actually doing instead of examining collateral loan files. His response to the second and third requests is even more insolent; he refuses to even repeat the second one, and rather than consider either one seriously, he just says FSOC will take action “if abuses are found.”

Moody’s economist, Stephen Hess is telling us the risk of holding US debt will rise because of the tax deal, and if we don’t offset this by cutting spending, the US is more likely to default on its sovereign debt. Absolute gibberish.

Republicans in the grassroots have become more strident against the bill in recent days, and noted weather vane Mitt Romney has an op-ed today where he slams the bill, mostly because it doesn’t make the Bush tax cuts permanent and because it adds to the deficit (yeah, I don’t get it either). He also wants to create “unemployment savings accounts,” which sounds fine until you realize that would mean that individuals, not businesses, would pay for unemployment insurance with their own money. I don’t think House Republicans will necessarily cater to the base on this one, but you may see some erosion of support. But that only matters if House Democrats use the opportunity.

Just what the country needs — another veteran of the Vampire Squid.