Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., lashed out at each other Tuesday morning over a Democratic economic stimulus package, which Reid is trying to pass.

If the House of Representatives is a truck stop, the Senate is more of a country club. But it appears, that in the early days of the second session of the 110th Congress, that the roles have been reversed.

The House is reveling over a bipartisan economic stimulus package, which overwhelmingly passed the House last week. The Senate's leaders are bickering.

Even by the hyper-partisan nature of today's political discourse, the words exchanged between Reid and McConnell this morning were striking.

After a quick prayer by the Senate Chaplain, McConnell spoke and accused Democrats of delaying passage of legislation that would direct tax rebates to millions of Americans and tax incentives to businesses for political purposes. He alleged that Democrats want Republicans to take tough votes that they don't want to take in an election year.

Reid then ambled up to the lectern and called the Bush administration "Orwellian," saying that, "it says something that means something else."

He then said that McConnell's comments were "an insult" and that the Republican leader was "becoming Orwellian himself."

Reid wanted to vote on the stimulus package last night, but McConnell objected because he wanted more time to review the Democratic proposal. Now, a vote is expected Wednesday, in part, so Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and perhaps Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., can return to Washington from the campaign trail to vote.

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