Over the course of the Bush Presidency, the administration has shown a remarkable ability in getting its agenda passed no matter what it takes. With the recently-passed Medicare overhaul, the administration had more than a bunch of spoilsport Democrats to deal with�many conservatives also balked at the bill after seeing the ten-year $395 billion price tag. Eventually the bill passed by five votes, but only after the House leadership begged and pleaded the conservatives for their support.

And hey, guess what? The price tag for the Medicare bill has now jumped to $534 billion, a full third more than had been projected. With the 2004 federal deficit ballooning to a massive $520 billion, it’s kind of hard to take the Republicans seriously as “the party of fiscal responsibility” anymore. Anyone for more tax cuts?

But the fascinating part of this story is that the Bush Administration seems fully willing to use misinformation campaigns and strong-arm tactics on members of its own party. Considering that the House roll call was held open for three hours (an unprecedented amount) before enough support could be found, it’s safe to assume that a certain amount of smoke was being blown up the dissenters’ asses. Fall in line and put on a happy face.

I have to imagine that, deep down, some of the fiscal conservatives are hopping mad about how this played out. But I doubt we’ll hear much about it… at least not on the record.