Sausage-making: it ain't pretty

The appropriate metaphor for Congress these days is sausage-making -- many hands going into a big vat of pork in order to make for "tasty" meat.  According to this report from the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Republicans are relying on Democratic votes in order to fund nine separate parts of the government for the coming year.  That means some Democratic priorities may make it in to the bill, called an omnibus appropriations bill or "megabus," although I'm not holding my breath.  The health care law passed by the Democratic Congress and signed by Pres. Obama before the 2010 elections may get funded after all, despite Republican leaders' objections to the law.  That would be a legislative victory for the President, but I doubt the Republicans will allow it to get much play.  The inner workings of Congress certainly aren't pretty these days, but if Republican leaders can't even get votes from their own party in order to pass any appropriations bill, it appears that we have a non-functioning "rogue" wing of the Republican party who won't take responsibility for any hard decisions.  The whole process is pretty gross, in my humble opinion.