Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a socialist who caucuses with the Democrats, has been talking all day on the Senate floor about his opposition to tax cuts (along with his affinity for Arianna Huffington, among other things). A senior Republican leadership aide tells me that the Democratic leadership "set up today to allow him to vent his spleen," and no filibuster is going to prevent the cloture vote on the tax deal set for 3 p.m. Monday from taking place. Assuming the Reid-McConnell tax deal gets 60 votes for cloture, as it seems very likely, the final vote on the bill would take place very late Tuesday night. On Wednesday, the Senate will take up the budget in an omnibus bill. "That could take us through the end of the week," says the GOP aide. The question, then, is whether Reid extends the session, and if so which bill he chooses--the START arms treaty, the DREAM Act immigration bill, or a stand-alone "don't ask, don't tell" repeal measure.