From the Washington Post: “It was the political equivalent of going on a shopping spree the same day you get a credit-line increase on your over-the-limit card. In the morning, the senators increased the federal debt limit by $800 billion, to $9 trillion — that’s with a T. In the afternoon came the Vote-a-Rama, a carnival in which the lawmakers took turns pitching scores of amendments to the 2007 budget measure, most calling for more money for favorite programs. There is no specific mention of a “Vote-a-Rama” in the Constitution, which is probably because the Framers could not have imagined what happened in the Senate yesterday: The chamber’s 100 members gathered and, in a frenzy of legislative activity, did their darnedest to empty the Treasury. “The Republican Party is now principally moderate, if not liberal!” exulted Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), after the Senate — including a majority of Republicans — approved his budget-busting amendment to spend an extra $7 billion on domestic programs. Just a week ago, GOP leaders gathered in Memphis and proclaimed the party’s commitment to fiscal restraint; yesterday, the restraints came off. “All the talk in Memphis doesn’t comport with reality,” said Specter, savoring his victory in a leather armchair in the Senate press gallery. “I don’t have any apologies to make for this 7 billion. I’m still not satisfied.”

And Republican voters should not be either.

Hat-tip Radley