House Republicans left behind eight “conferees” for a conference on the payroll tax/UI/doc fix bill, and plan to hold showy events where they sit in a room alone, but Democrats have adamantly refused to reopen negotiations until the short-term bill passes. Meanwhile, half of the conferees opposed the payroll tax cut extension as recently as a few weeks ago. So far, nobody’s buying the GOP spin.

If you want to know about the impact of spending caps, just travel to Colorado.

Bob Corker, speaking softly to Olivier Knox, casually says that the START treaty won’t pass if Don’t Ask Don’t Tell or the DREAM Act get a vote tomorrow.

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.

It remains a mystery to me why the candidates who are able to tell the truth because they are doing the right thing aren’t able to capitalize on it. Telling the public that they are constantly given the lies of the right wing in order to get their votes against their own interests seems like something we really need to press home, over and over.

If someone like Corker won’t play along with the plan to cut social security, then it’s unlikely to get the mix of Republicans and deficit hawk Democrats they’ll need to pass the Commission recommendations.

Here’s where we’re at on the Wall Street reform, with a vote on a motion to proceed expected Monday: we have positives on some fronts, negatives on others, and the Republicans still acting like spoiled children. Business as usual.

Now we’re having a partisan fight, not a fight about the merits of the bill, and on that score, Democrats do appear to be winning.

Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker are going to bat for a major business in Tennessee while blocking employees from unionizing.

Ben Bernanke let his slip show at multiple points during his confirmation hearing today. First, he echoed bank robber Willie Sutton in targeting nothing less than Social Security, then he took a pot shot at Medicare, and then he dismissed the idea of a second stimulus package to create more jobs. No wonder three senators now have holds placed on his renomination.