You have no doubt heard of the Democrats' imminent collapse on the budget, apparently willing to entertain negotiations with Republicans on a no-strings budget supplemental for our double wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, (gosh, are we still at war both places, 'cause I thought we'd won those wars, or do we need to introduce a new concept for Republican led wars - the non-victory victory), in exchange for more domestic spending.

Well, I am happy and gratified to announce that those negotiations appear to have collapsed. And you'll never guess why. Or maybe you just might be able to figure it out on your own.

Here it is straight from the Wa Po:

House Democrats Pull Budget Offer
The GOP Is Negotiating In Bad Faith, Obey Says

A Democratic deal to give President Bush some war funding in exchange for additional domestic spending appeared to collapse last night after House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) accused Republicans of bargaining in bad faith.

Instead, Obey said he will push a huge spending bill that would hew to the president's spending limit by stripping it of all lawmakers' pet projects, as well as most of the Bush administration's top priorities. It would also contain no money for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (emphasis mine)

"Absent a Republican willingness to sit down and work out a reasonable compromise, I think we ought to end the game and go to the president's numbers," Obey said. "I was willing to listen to the argument that we ought to at least add more for Afghanistan, but when the White House refuses to compromise, when the White House continues to stick it in our eye, I say to hell with it."

House Democratic leaders were scheduled to complete work last night on a $520 billion spending bill that included $11 billion in funding for domestic programs above the president's request, half of what Democrats had initially approved. The bill would have also contained $30 billion for the war in Afghanistan, upon which the Senate would have added billions more for Iraq before final congressional approval.

But a stern veto threat this weekend from White House budget director Jim Nussle put the deal in jeopardy, and Obey said he is prepared for a long standoff with the White House.

"If anybody thinks we can get out of here this week, they're smoking something illegal," he said.

Obey's proposal would ax about 9,500 home-district and home-state projects worth a total of $9.5 billion, according to Keith Ashdown, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a budget watchdog group. Republicans inserted about 40 percent of those projects. Not all of that money could be eliminated, however. The budget of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is parceled out as home-district projects, and Congress has no intention of eliminating the Army Corps.

Republicans are already trying to spin this as a victory for Bush, but that's okay; Democrats can say that our needs at home, even for the vaunted "homeland" security of our first responders, not to mention our naked ports of entry, are being ignored in order for this administration not to make any real decisions about Iraq, and for that matter, Afghanistan, and that such will be the case until there is a Democrat in the White House.

I do realize that most of you are in no mood to cheer that prospect, but I would argue that our best bet for undoing the truly historic damage done to this country in what will be eight years by the time a next president takes the oath of office on one of those wintry DC January morns come 2009, is to make sure that it is a Democrat, and then hold those Democratic feet to the fire for the next four to eight years.

Go read the article here, and then think about calling your congress critters, Senator, Rep., and then maybe Obey's office and Harry Reid's and tell them more like this one, please, and for God's sake, don't back down.