GOP Thwarting the Dems on all Sides

The GOP continues to thwart the efforts of the Dems to prematurely pull out of Iraq, and to pass pork-laden bills:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a $50 billion Iraq war bill because it had a troop pullout plan, defeating Democrats' latest attempt to end the war while continuing the battle over funding it.

The Senate action stopped a Democratic proposal that had passed the House of Representatives on a largely partisan vote on Wednesday. The measure needed 60 votes to pass under Senate rules; it only got 53 votes, with 45 senators voting against.

Things aren't much different in the House:

House Democrats were unable to override President Bush's veto of a key domestic spending bill yesterday, forcing the party back to the drawing board on some of its most important domestic initiatives, including early-childhood education and heating-bill payments for the elderly.

With a vote of 277 to 141, Democrats lost their bid to defy Bush's veto of the labor, health and education bill. The vote was a setback for the Democratic social agenda championed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey (Wis.), the bill's chief architect.

Captain Ed sheds a little light on David Obey's reaction to the GOP support for the veto:

David Obey called Republicans "lemmings" for upholding Bush's veto. However, Obey could have sacrificed his twelve earmarks in this bill in order to set an example to the hundreds of other legislators who put over 2,000 pork-barrel line items into this appropriation.

It's funny how quickly Dems always resort to name calling when they run out of logical arguments (it usually takes about 30 seconds).

It would have been nice if the GOP had shown this level of fiscal responsibility when they were in the majority. They'd probably still be in the majority today if they had.