Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) showed a touch of indigna in his response to my article “Kent Conrad, MIA,” which pointed out that, despite being required by law to produce a Senate budget by April 15, and despite several months’ worth of super-secret “Gang of Six” talks, Conrad has nothing to show for himself. (And while that could change in the near future, Republicans on the budget committee are concerned that Conrad is planning to bypass the committee process altogether in order to avoid an open and transparent mark-up session.)

North Dakota blogger Rob Port points out that Conrad has a history of not taking criticism very well (by fleeing town hall meetings, for example).