The Base

It's not just progressives/liberals who are saying "feh..." to the BushCo agenda--it's also died-in-the-wool (with extra starch) conservatives like Richard Viguerie (who was one of the founders of the Right Wing Noise Machine with his pioneering use of direct mail for conservative candidates back in the 70s--you can read more about him at Wikipedia and watch a video of Bill Moyers interviewing him from his last season of Now on PBS). Viguerie's ConservativeHQ web site commissioned a poll (hat tip to Kos) of conservative activists and donors that portends rough seas in the coming months for the Republican party:

The January 31 survey also found that 54 percent of conservatives feel so abandoned by current Congressional leaders and President Bush that they plan to reduce their contributions and/or grassroots work for GOP candidates in the 2006 election. And 70 percent would support a principled conservative challenger running against an established incumbent Republican in a 2006 GOP primary.
[...]

“Conservatives feel betrayed by the Republican leaders, and they want them replaced,” said Viguerie, who has been dubbed the “Funding Father” of the conservative movement. “Conservatives, which form the GOP’s base, provided most of the volunteers and money to elect a Republican-controlled House and Senate – and wound up with bigger government as a result. Now more than half of these committed activists say they’ll reduce or end their involvement in the 2006 elections – which could prove devastating for the GOP.”

Asked how they feel about the Republican members of Congress, 48 percent of conservatives report being “disappointed” and an additional 32 percent think they “should be replaced.”

Asked to grade the GOP-controlled Congress, 73 percent gave it a D or F on “controlling government spending;” 73 percent gave it a D or F on “reducing illegal immigration;” and 54 percent gave it an “overall grade” of D or F.

Oh, how I love an implosion (well... fingers crossed on that one).