This may be politically savvy, but for me it is primarily a reminder that the Republican Congress as a whole was and is unwilling to get control of earmarks.

GOP leaders have opted to leave behind almost a half-trillion-dollar clutter of unfinished spending bills.

Driving the decision to quit and go home rather than finish the remaining budget work is a determined effort by a group of conservative Republicans to prevent putting a GOP stamp on spending bills covering 13 Cabinet Departments - and loaded with thousands of homestate projects derided as "pork" by critics.

It appears the Democrats won't do much better.