Republicans will loose in the midterms, and deservedly so.

I must state up front that I am not easily angered. I am also pragmatic and I truly want what is best for our country (you can hear the but coming right?)BUT what in the wide, wide world of sports is going on with the Republicans in Washington? I know that the war is the most important issue we face and if you are a strong supporter, you get cut a little slack when it comes to spending, but this is ridiculous. I did not vote for a 45% increase in the size of the Federal Government. Did I miss that TV add by the RNC? Vote for us and we will outspend the democrats!

Just hours after opening a new line of credit through an increase in the federal debt limit, the Senate splurged on a bevy of popular programs before approving a spending plan that was as much a political document as an economic one, its fine print geared to the coming elections.

Forced to choose between calls for renewed austerity and demands for more money, many Republicans joined Democrats in reaching deeper into the Treasury, leaving the party's push for new fiscal restraint in tatters.

I understand that we are fighting a war, and that cost money. Protecting the homeland cost money, I get that. Katrina relief? Ok, but since when did the federal government pay to rebuild an area the size of the gulf coast by opening the national treasury before they knew how much damage should be passed along to the tax payer? Where are the fiscal conservatives who have the guts to ask 'where the hell is all this money going and how can we do a better job using less?' The Republicans have learned from the democrats, you can stay in power if you bring home the pork to your district. If my constituents care about an issue, I will vote to increase spending whether it makes a difference or not, it shows I care.

Republicans have fallen into the democratic trap. If they don't vote for more spending, the democrats will use that to say they don't care. Is there no courage left in DC? I may not be campaign strategist, but I have a response to that line attack; "I did not come to Washington DC to bribe my constituents with their children's and grandchildren's money"

I fear the real damage will come home when the conservatives say 'enough' and stay home on election day. The big wall of monitors behind Wolf Blitzer will turn from red to blue and Republicans will wonder how we lost control of Congress at such a critical time in our history. Oh and as an added bonus the last two years of the Bush administration will be spent on impeachment instead of the war against radical Islam.

I hope I am wrong, but as they say, hope is not a plan.