Remember how Democrats would simply wait until after the election to pass all of their bills, during a pressure-free lame duck session? Did you buy that? Because they're already dropping most agenda items, including a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal.

The Hill reports today that those 20 bills the Democrats planned on passing between now and the new Congress' ascension are suddenly... two bills: a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government open for another short while, and an extension of the tax cuts set to expire on January 1. Expect a deal on the last one, as Obama himself admitted, insanely, in his first post-election press conference.

Meanwhile: bad news for the gays! John McCain still doesn't want to fight alongside them, in his Ambien-induced fugue states:

Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and John McCain of Arizona, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, are in talks on stripping the proposed ["Don't Ask Don't Tell"] repeal and other controversial provisions from a broader defense bill, leaving the repeal with no legislative vehicle to carry it. With a repeal attached, and amid Republican complaints over the terms of the debate, the defense bill had failed to win the 60 votes needed to overcome a procedural hurdle in the Senate in September.

Are you one of the activist gays who still, for some reason, cares about horrible politics? You should call your senator in the very near future to counter the madman John McCain and his crazy antics. It wouldn't hurt. Not promising that it would help though!

[Image via AP]