Republicans Continue To Be Party of Big Government

I’ve often noted how the Republicans have become the party of big government. The Washington Post has reviewed the increased spending under Republicans:

Indeed, Congress has exceeded the allocations or assumptions in its budget resolution four times — and the year’s legislative work is far from complete. According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, those budget violations have raised spending through 2010 by roughly $2.2 billion above Congress’s limits and tacked $115 billion onto the federal budget deficit through the end of decade, including $33 billion in 2006 alone.

Even some Republicans are admitting this:

“If you look at fiscal conservatism these days, it’s in a sorry state,” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of only eight House members to vote against the $286.5 billion transportation bill that was passed the day before the recess. “Republicans don’t even pretend anymore.”

This is one of several areas where there is bound to be increased conflict between Republicans:

“There’s a rising level of frustration with the disconnect between where the vast majority of conservatives are in this country and how Congress is behaving,” said former representative Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), whose Club for Growth political action committee finances the campaigns of conservative candidates. “There’s going to be a wake-up call sooner or later.”