Additionally, while it may be true that those once-slumbering “grassroots” on the right have awakened, rubbing their eyes at a Democratically controlled presidency and Congress…the American people, by a significant majority (see latest polling) think highly of Obama’s plans, and look favorably on Congressional Democrats’ efforts…but not so much on the Republicans’ obviously hypocritical catcalls from the cheap seats.

At the local level, Republicans are not agitating for the GOP to change its basic tenets. Instead, they are agitating for Republican officeholders to adhere to the basic tenets because for so long they’ve been trampling the basic tenets.

I’ve been to some local Republican gatherings recently, and I can tell you that grassroots involvement is picking up steam even though this is an “off-year” for elections. I know what Republicans are saying to each other. They fault Bush and Congressional Republicans for exploding the size of the Federal government, which is contrary to basic tenets, thereby exploding the deficit, and they fault Paulson and Bush (along with the likes of Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank, and Franklin Raines–tip of the iceberg, for I know there’s a lot more names that can be named) for leading the nation’s transformation from the liberty-loving, individual-empowering U.S.A. into the socialist, centrally-planned U.S.S.A. That Obama and Congressional Democrats want to explode the size of government even more, explode the deficit even more, and continue down the path of socialism even farther are all non-starters for Republicans at the grassroots.

I don’t know why you even care what the Congressional Republicans are doing at this point. As you said, the Democrats have the control. Therefore, go ahead and urge your Congressional Democrats to forge onward without the Republicans. The Congressional Democrats don’t need the Congressional Republicans. That’s reality. The Congressional Republicans are voting “no” because we grassroots Republicans are finally bending their ear.

As for Rob Portman, you have indeed illuminated a large chink in his armor, and that is his penchant for Keynesian economic thought along with his service in the Bush Administration that ignored some basic Republican tenets. If challenged in the 2010 GOP primary, Portman might be vulnerable to attacks on this front. However, if he succeeds in securing the GOP nomination, I don’t expect that either Jennifer Brunner or Lee Fisher will be able to capitalize on Portman’s vulnerability on that particular issue because they are both much further to the left than Portman.