The "Spanker" of the House?



Congressman Mike Pense. (image via cnn)

Did The Speaker of the House "tan the hide" of the Congressman from Indiana's 6th District?The Prince of Darkness Robert Novak doesn't sleep -- no, not when they are hapless orphans to deprive of their thin gruel, or a capital gains tax cut to espouse. Today, Our Novak writes about the growing disconnect between one of the more vocal small-government conservatives -- Congressman Mike Pence -- who disagrees with The President's LBJ-ish Hurricane Kartina proposal.

Congressman Pence is synecdochal of The President's sturdy base. So, with The President's approval ratings dropping faster than, oh, a blind-drunk Tara Reid after a kegstand, well, The Congressman's vocal disagreement comes as a surprise. Our favorite Dickensian villain writes:

"Rep. Mike Pence, a 46-year-old former radio talk show host from eastern Indiana serving his third term in Congress, is chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. He has tried hard to cooperate with the regular House Republican leadership rather than confront it. So, he could not have been happy last Tuesday when he found himself in a closed-door auto-da-fe with GOP leaders as the inquisitors and Pence as the heretic."

"Pence and the RSC's heresy was to propose that massive federal outlays resulting from Hurricane Katrina be offset by reduced spending elsewhere. Specifically, they requested offsets to cut highway projects earmarked by individual House members, and a delay in implementing President Bush's new Medicare prescription drug subsidy. The negative reaction by the leadership was reflected when Pence, offered a seat at a later meeting, explained that he would be more comfortable standing because House Speaker Dennis Hastert had just tanned his hide."

Ouch! Did The Speaker of the House use ye old hickory switch when weilding discipline? Huh? Huh? Did he?

Or, more likely, did Speaker Hastert judicioulsy apply the Speaker's gavel to where "the-Moon-don't-shine" (Averted Gaze)? Either way (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment), TMI!

The percussive particulars as to how the Congressman's ass-cheeks arrived at "The Red-State" (Arched Eyebrow) should remain a private issue, left firmly behind closed doors.

Basta!