How can people(Republicans) who say they are Republicans because they are conservative and believe in a strict interpretation of the Constitution pass such a heinous bill that walks all over the Constitution?

We're in some trouble now.

It tramples all over the Constitution (with the ignominious Iran-Contra-tainted John Poindexter, no less, trawling vast hoards of information on EVERY American!), it provides goodies for big corporations (like Eli Lilly), and it underwrites the insurance industry.

The current Homeland Security Bill is DISGUSTING, but hardly surprising. Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe are like weak moderate Democrats--it took nothing more than a few vague assurances, eyewinks and sweet nothings from that slagominous Trent Lott to walk right over them!

And don't forget, W. is going to contract out 850,000 or so jobs to private companies, many of which are (or will quickly become) Republican supporters! This was the anti-union ruse he used to can Carnahan and Cleland. I just hope these companies are not like the New Jersey DMV, which has gotten worse since tax-slashing (and budget busting) Christy Todd Whitman turned it over to private contractors.

In principle what the president and congress seem to want is communication between depatments.

A better, more economical solution might have been to divert current employees in each department to new positions of liason with other departments. If they could only be hired/fired by the president it would have the same effect and save money by not requiring new employees.

None of them should be subject to summary dismissal. The Senate should have review powers over a primary liason in each department similar to those excercised in the choosing of judges.

It just fascinates me to no end that the party that constantly harps and preaches less government, smaller government, just created the largest beurocracy in the history of the United States!!!!

Paul Krugman predicts this "privatization", which no one really expects to save money, will result in a return to the "spoils system", where friends and supporters of the administration get all the business, often while gouging the taxpayers - the exact problem that the civil service system was designed to protect us from.

Victors and Spoils (NYT)