From the NYT story today:
> But one administration official said that limiting the much smaller
> discretionary domestic budget would have symbolic value. That
> spending includes lawmakers’ earmarks for parochial projects, and
> only when the public believes such perceived waste is being wrung
> out will they be willing to consider reductions in popular
> entitlement programs, the official said.
>
> “By helping to create a new atmosphere of fiscal discipline, it can
> actually also feed into debates over other components of the
> budget,” the official said, briefing reporters on the condition of
> anonymity.
First they came for the nutrition programs - but what they really want is Medicare and Social Security.
Doug