No surprise to anyone, the House passed its might non-binding surge resolution, H. Con. Res. 63, 246-182.  Interestingly, the number of Republican defectors (17) went up between the time the first surge opponents made their position known and the vote.  (There were two Democratic nays and six members not voting.)  If nothing else, it suggests that the old Victory Caucus has about as much influence as I do in forcing Congressmen to do what it wants.  That’s good news for the GOP, at least for the time being.  Watch for the Hewitts to go into insane revenge mode to tear down these 17 members. 

Among the Republicans supporting the resolution and opposing the surge were such unlikely figures as Bob Inglis (SC-04), who won his last election with 64% of the vote in a solidly GOP upstate district.  While I have been stressing the political vulnerability of Republican members in predominantly Democratic states as an explanation for the members’ opposition to the surge, that does not quite do justice to many of the members who are gaining no political cover and are risking the wrath of their constituents in voting for this resolution.

Earlier in the week, the geniuses at the old Victory Caucus couldn’t even figure out which Congressmen to target for their opprobrium.  They listed Roscoe Bartlett (MD) as one of their enemies, when he ended up voting against the resolution!  Meanwhile, Reps. Johnson of Illinois and Petri of Wisconsin, who did end up supporting the resolution, received no prior mention at all.  Way to keep their feet to the fire, Hewitt!