Weeeel golly gosh, it looks like the falling numbers and perhaps the defeat of Beloved Leader's Chosen One to lead Virginia back to the Dark Ages in preparation for the rapture have given the "moderate" (read: Concerned) republicans in the House a bit of spine.
House Republican leaders neared an expected decision to strip oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve from their massive $54 billion budget-cutting measure last night as they scrounged for support ahead of a scheduled vote today.
At least 22 Republicans have told the House leadership they will not vote for the sweeping bill unless the drilling provision is removed and they are given assurances that it will not return after House and Senate negotiators hash out a final measure. Even then, several moderate Republicans have said they still would oppose the bill, which would allow states to impose new costs on Medicaid recipients, cut funds for student loans and child support enforcement, trim farm supports, lift a moratorium on "Outer Continental Shelf" offshore energy drilling, and restrict access to food stamps.
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"It's not just [the Arctic drilling] or the Outer Continental Shelf or food stamps. It's the package in its totality," said Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-N.Y.), who has told GOP leaders the measure will lead to the "dismantling" of the Republican conference.
The moderates' firm stance, especially on Arctic drilling, has put GOP leaders in a bind. ...
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In the Senate, a similar showdown will occur today, as the Finance Committee moves to draft a five-year, $60 billion bill that would extend expiring tax cuts from President Bush's first term. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) told Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) she would oppose the measure as fiscally unwise and an unfair boost to the affluent just as Congress moves to cut programs for the poor.
If, as expected, Finance Committee Democrats oppose the tax cuts' extension, Snowe's opposition would sink the bill.
So, has juggernaut begun to slow as these "moderates" begin to realize that blind adherence to the faith will probably lead them to find new jobs in 2006, if they are tied to Preznit Plumb Bob and his Amazing, and oft-repeated, Spectacular Failures?
You know, as with anything the more you practice, the better you get. It's taken a lifetime of consecutive failures for Preznit Dry Hole to perfect the art of Spectacular Failure on an Almost-Cosmic Scale...but oh my, he's gotten good at it, hasn't he?
