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cms Republicans score key wins on spending
By Gail Russell Chaddock Tue Dec 18, 3:00 AM ET
Washington - Heading into the last days of the legislative session, Republicans in Congress and President Bush are chalking up some surprising victories on federal spending.
That has put Democrats on the defensive. From a campaign pledge to change the course of the war in Iraq to tax and spending plans, Democrats are now having to scuttle key elements of their agenda. The extent of their retrenchment will become clear this week as Congress moves to pass key spending bills.
The secret behind the GOP's success? A show of unity between the minority party on the Hill and the White House.
"There's an interesting cultural argument to be made that Republicans as a party are simply more disciplined than Democrats," says Ross Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. "There is also a very strong perception on the part of Republicans that the president is popular with the party base, and for that reason they don't want to desert him. The third factor is that you have a president with nothing to lose – and someone who has nothing to lose in this kind of showdown is going to win."
The White House said Monday it was encouraged by concessions made by Democrats over the weekend as they crafted a $500 billion-plus catchall spending bill. The year-end measure mostly sticks within Mr. Bush's budget even as it shifts billions of dollars into politically sensitive domestic programs he sought to cut.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20071218/ts_csm/aloyal
dang it.