GOP gets Liar's Remorse

It all seemed like such fun when the "pork barrel bill nominally concerned with highways" passed like a breeze through the Congress last summer. Now the GOP are being called to account by their constituents and are starting to visualize tar and feathers at the ballot box. It only took five years but their supporters are finally beginning to realize they were sold a pig in the poke by this party that promised to cut government spending.

In response to the public grumbling, "efforts are underway in the House and the Senate to rescind or reallocate a portion of its funds." In a remarkable turnaround, Tom DeLay who recently declared "ongoing victory," against spending and said there is simply no fat left to cut in the federal budget, had this to say to the Heritage Foundation in a recent speech.

"I'm not here to defend the highway bill," DeLay responded. ...He conceded that Congress may have gone a bit overboard.

"Our responsibility, that frankly we didn't perform very well, is to make sure those are legitimate earmarks for legitimate reasons," DeLay said, referring to the pet projects.

Rather an understatement. Meanwhile, if you had any doubt John McCain is positioning himself for a run for the White House, this statement on his opposition to the bill might persuade you otherwise.

"Does it make all the difference in the world? No," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), one of four senators who voted against the highway bill. "But there's a great deal of symbolism associated with whether we're going to add $24 billion to the debt in unwanted and unnecessary pork-barrel projects."

Add that to his insistence on pursuing the anti-torture proposal that Cheney is actively fighting against and his general criticism of the occupation and he sounds to me like a guy looking for round two in a fight for the nomination.