On the Scene

‘I THINK Republicans across the country need to mature if they wish to govern,” says Rep. James Greenwood (R., Pa.). “Keeping the base energized is important. But so is the adage that politics is about addition, not subtraction.” The day before, Greenwood’s politics had definitely been about adding, at least in one sense. His amendment to the Labor, Health, and Human Services appropriations bill restored $193 million of funding for Title X of the Public Health Services Act, the family-planning program that is anathema to social conservatives.

Greenwood’s victory—courtesy of 56 other wayward Republicans—capped a tumultuous tug-of-war between GOP moderates and conservatives that for a week in early August strained the leadership’s ability to run the House. In the end, the legislation underlying the dispute—the Labor, HHS appropriations bill—passed with its status as the most conservative product of the appropriations process intact. But the tussle over Title X underscored the intermittent ability of GOP moderates to succeed in a politics of “addition” that risks subtracting the GOP’s most committed and active supporters.

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Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry is the editor in chief of National Review.

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‘I THINK Republicans across the country need to mature if they wish to govern,” says Rep. James Greenwood (R., Pa.). “Keeping the base energized is important. But so is the adage that politics is about addition, not subtraction.” The day before, Greenwood’s politics had definitely been about adding, at least in one sense. His amendment to the Labor, Health, and Human Services appropriations bill restored $193 million of funding for Title X of the Public Health Services Act, the family-planning program that is anathema to social conservatives.

Greenwood’s victory—courtesy of 56 other wayward Republicans—capped a tumultuous tug-of-war between GOP moderates and conservatives that for a week in early August strained the leadership’s ability to run the House. In the end, the legislation underlying the dispute—the Labor, HHS appropriations bill—passed with its status as the most conservative product of the appropriations process intact. But the tussle over Title X underscored the intermittent ability of GOP moderates to succeed in a politics of “addition” that risks subtracting the GOP’s most committed and active supporters.