More on the Farm Bill

Another article today from the Wall Street Journal talking about why the Farm Bill found veto proof success, even though the President and the Republican leadership in the House instructed members to vote against it (which bleary-eyed lapdogs Todd Tiahrt & Jerry Moran dutifully did).

Last time around, Republicans were pretty generous when it came to larding up the farm bill.

This year, though, some of them had a change of attitude.

President Bush directed his party to get back to its fiscally conservative roots. He said he would prefer no new farm bill to the one written by Democrats.

The elected leader of the House Republicans, John Boehner from a corn-growing district in western Ohio, called the bill “a great example of what’s wrong in Washington.”

But half of Rep. Boehner’s caucus didn’t see it that way – 100 Republicans voted for the bill, which racked up such a large victory margin – 318-106 – that overriding a veto shouldn’t pose much of a problem, if it comes to that.

It’s a testament to the power of an important constituency in both congressional and presidential contests: the rural vote.

Yep, the rural vote, and the deep necessity to protect our farmers. Democrats and Republicans expressed the same reason for voting as they did: "I was voting my district."

That's what Nancy Boyda did. Dennis Moore, who's district has almost no farmers (if any) voted the way he knew Kansas farmers needed him to vote. Even Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback voted with a veto-proof majority in the Senate to pass the bill (though they both expressed the same hesitations Boyda did- that the bill wasn't perfect, but it was certainly better than nothing). Heck, Farm Bureau back the dang bill.

Only Tiahrt & Moran seemed to forget they represent a state of farmers and not San Francisco. Luckily Nancy Boyda was looking out for their constituents.