Conservatives Simmering over the Bush Budget

And for good reason. There is nothing conservative about these numbers:

Conservatives wait warily as President Bush makes final decisions about his election-year budget, three years into an administration on whose watch spending has mushroomed by 23.7%, the fastest pace in a decade.

While Bush has emphasized repeatedly the need to rein in spending, overall federal expenditures have grown to an estimated $2.31 trillion for the budget year that started Oct. 1. That is up from $1.86 trillion in President Clinton’s final year, a rate of growth not seen for any three-year period since 1989 to 1991.

I smell a primary challenge coming on. . it would be a great way for future Republicans to start paying attention to conservative issues. . . or pave the way for someone much worse.