Sen. Mitch McConnell (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)



Sen. Mitch McConnell (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)



Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has doubled down on House Speaker John Boehner's threat to force the Keystone XL pipeline down Democrats' throats as part of any payroll tax cut extension bill.

McConnell has hopped on board.

As negotiations on the payroll tax bill proceeded Friday, McConnell spokesman Donald Stewart said the minority leader was insisting on the pipeline language. “The leader will not support any bill without the Keystone XL language as part of the agreement,” Stewart said. [...] Before McConnell’s statement on Keystone, Reid said Friday that bargainers were making good progress in the talks on the payroll tax bill, a sentiment echoed by McConnell.

So the extended tax relief for 160 million American workers is now being held hostage for nothing more than a middle finger to President Obama. Sounds about par for the course. The discouraging part is that they'll probably win on this one, too.

In related news, the House passed their $1 trillion spending bill moments ago, 296-121. The Senate will take it up either today or tomorrow. Meanwhile, negotiations on the payroll tax cut extension, unemployment benefits extension, and Medicare "doc fix" continue.