• The AP writes that these unfinished bills will likely "consume time and energy that Democrats had hoped to devote to their own agenda". That's the most fiscally responsible thing the Republican majority has done in years.



• Many critics spent the last 6 years complaining that the government was growing too fast. Many of those same critics will not complain that federal agencies cannot possibly be expected to operate at 2006 funding levels.

[Senators Tom Coburn and Jim DeMint] blocked all of the spending legislation unless it was stripped of wasteful pork. Their antagonists, the appropriators, wanted their budget-busting pork projects, but couldn't risk engaging Coburn and DeMint in a public showdown. ... Had the appropriators challenged Coburn and DeMint, their only weapon would have been to threaten to shut the government down (if the spending bills aren't allowed to pass and a CR is not issued, the government is forced to shut down). And that was something they weren't willing to commit to.

So...if Congress does pass the CR as is currently expected in December, and the Democrats subsequently extend it for a full year, then Coburn and DeMint will have unilaterally saved taxpayers a whopping $17 billion!
[...]
If the appropriators do decide to challenge Coburn and DeMint when the Senate reconvenes on December 4th, then Coburn would force a vote on dozens of amendments that would defund the pork projects ... Alternatively, if the CR does pass in December, and the Democrats decide to try to pass the spending bills rather than issue a full-year CR, then they will be forced to deal with Coburn and DeMint as well. And guess how that will look —- they will be using their new position in the majority to bust a budget with pork projects! And this is after they've spent months and months screaming about the GOP's irresponsible spending habits.