Friday, November 18, 2005

Folks, please don't forget that the GOP still runs the country:

The House narrowly approved a broad five-year budget plan early this morning that squeezes programs for the poor, for college students and for farmers, handing Republican leaders a hard-fought victory after weeks of resistance in GOP ranks....

The House measure would cut about 220,000 people off food stamps, allow states to impose new costs on Medicaid beneficiaries, squeeze student lenders, cut aid to state child-support enforcement programs and trim farm supports....

Under the bill, health care programs would be cut by $976 million, including a $249 million reduction to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the smallest percentage increase for the National Institutes of Health in 35 years....

Education funding would decline for the first time in a decade, with Pell grants frozen for the fourth year in a row. Infuriating many lawmakers from Northern states, funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which subsidizes heating bills, would remain stagnant.


Yeah, this is the result of a compromise with moderates, after an embarrassing defeat yesterday afternoon, but excuse me if I'm not uncorking champagne. Even a bloodied Republican Party still operates like the Republican Party of Bush's triumph years, if in a somewhat diluted form.

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