Budget's red ink colors turmoil in GOP: "the GOP is struggling with itself over how--and how much--to close the gap between federal revenues and spending.
Already the White House effort to make Bush's tax cuts permanent appears to be in jeopardy, at least for this year. Pressure is growing on the president to veto a popular transportation bill that could test the White House's resolve in getting spending under control.
'There is a real fight over the heart and soul of the Republican Party over the deficit,' said Stan Collender, a longtime budget analyst and head of the Washington office of Financial Dynamics, an international communications company.
A deficit that could exceed a record $500 billion this year is giving the GOP some pause and Democrats some live political ammunition. But few Republicans see the deficit issue as a major threat to Bush's re-election bid. "
- posted by geoff @ #