WASHINGTON -- Thirty-one months ago Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell affronted the media and other custodians of propriety by saying something common-sensical.

The Washington Post reported something surprising on April 29 -- a hidden-camera expose by pro-life advocates. On the front page of the Metro section, the Post reported how a veteran D.C. abortion doctor named Cesare Santangelo told a 24-week pregnant woman that in the unlikely event that an abortion resulted in a live birth, "we would not help it."

WASHINGTON -- The recent kerfuffle over a secret recording of Sen. Mitch McConnell's campaign strategy meeting, which focused on opposition research about a likely opponent, actress Ashley Judd, has divided observers into two groups.

The Senate met in an unusual Saturday session to vote on two tax proposals doomed to fail from the start.

Members of Congress started out this week conducting symbolic political votes in order to pay back their Democratic base for their support in the past election. The Senate voted and failed to advance the following bills:

While most Americans spent this weekend doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, the Senate spent Saturday and Sunday debating and voting on amendments to the START treaty, the DREAM Act and the repeal of the Defense Department's “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.