Inside Report: Democratic Discipline
By Robert Novak

WASHINGTON -- The House vote Tuesday passing a Democratic-sponsored homeland security bill showed that Republicans are unaccustomed to being in the minority for the first time in 12 years, while the Democrats are exercising iron discipline in the majority.
Although the full Republican leadership attacked the bill as expensive and ineffective, 68 Republicans voted for it while 128 were in opposition. The supporters included such ranking Republican committee members as Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida (Foreign Affairs) and Peter King of New York (Homeland Security).

All 231 Democrats voting were in support of the bill, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi began the Democratic "first 100 hours" of rapid-fire legislation. Pharmaceutical industry lobbyists could not find a single Democratic member against a party plan to force down drug prices. One moderate freshman congressman said he was opposed to the measure but felt obliged to vote for a bill that was in the Pelosi 100 hours as a "leadership issue."