The debate in the Senate over the ethics and lobbying reform bill has taken an interesting turn as Sen. Judd Gregg has introduced an amendment that would give President Bush the authority to take wasteful spending projects out of a bill and send them back to Congress for a separate vote (background here). Harry Reid and Dick Durbin are throwing a tantrum right now on the Senate floor, accusing Republicans of trying to torpedo the ethics bill.

Gregg and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are saying that they only want an up-or-down vote on the amendment. Reid and Durbin are countering that the amendment is just too complicated to vote on right now. It’s an argument that doesn’t really hold up under scrutiny — Congress has been kicking around the line-item veto in one form or another for a long time (including the line-item measure that passed the House last year), so it’s kind of absurd to say that members don’t know enough about it to put it to a vote.

You can watch the debate (if ”enhanced rescission authority” do for you what ”zone blitz package” do for a football fan around this time of year) right here.