Victory!? House defeats "Reverse Robin Hood!"

I don't know if our pictures helped, but this criminal budget was defeated Thursday night 224 to 209. Passage of the budget has grown increasingly imperative to a leadership that has been rocked by scandal and is on the verge of losing control of its rank and file. House GOP leaders last week jettisoned one of President Bush's top priorities -- opening Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling -- but that was not enough to secure passage of the bill. Moderates were still objecting to a provision that allows states to impose new costs on Medicaid beneficiaries, squeezes student lenders, cuts federal child support enforcement and pares farm supports. The unexpected setback marked the first time the final version of a major spending bill was rejected by the House in a decade.Link
UPDATE in the early hours of the morning, Republicans in the House pushed through a revised budget bill with over $50 billion in cuts to services ordinary folks depend on. The final tally was a heatbreaking 217 to 215. However, thanks to calls, letters to congress, letters to the editor, "Speak Out" events, and pictures, the bill is significantly better than it could've been. Drilling in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge was pulled out of the bill. Cuts in food stamps and Medicaid have been reduced.