[Nate tha\\\' Great]

Also, from Roll Call today.

"Irritated at GOP leaders in both chambers who have often used the annual spending bills as vehicles for more controversial measures, House Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) said they are prepared to stay in session through the winter holidays to avoid passing a catch-all omnibus spending bill this year.

“Whether we work through the holidays or pass long-term continuing resolutions, we are committed to completing the FY 2007 appropriations process in an open and orderly manner, without resorting to an omnibus strategy,” the two chairmen wrote in a Monday letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).

Though the letter does not explicitly mention attempts by the leadership to attach unrelated measures to spending bills, Cochran acknowledged Tuesday that the letter was partially intended to let leaders know that appropriators are not happy with their bills being used to force other measures to the floor at the end of Congressional sessions."

Analysis: Attachment of non-germane riders is a "hot" issue right now and leadership is not being given the same Get Out of Jail Free card that it usually is. Most likely, this has to do with the GOP's poor approval rakings and lingering dissatisfaction among the rank-and-file with leadership, which is emerging in dramatic swaths this week. Whether this continues after the election -- assuming we make it that far -- will likely depend on the results of the election.