WASHINGTON -- As a high-profile political force, the religious right has essentially disappeared in America. But that hasn't stopped religion from becoming a public issue. Only now the left wants to mix politics and faith.
The latest target is President George W. Bush's budget. Although it is nearing congressional approval, the $1.9 trillion that he wants to spend is seen as far too small. Scandalously so, in the view of interest groups used to feeding at the federal trough.
For instance, Jonathan Alter of Newsweek complains that the administration's proposed $2.1 billion hike for education, which reverses the traditional GOP position that education should be a local matter, is nevertheless too chintzy. After all, it is only "one tenth of one percent of the federal budget and is a lesser hike than in recent years." Tripling the money for reading doesn't matter because it's only "$75 million (that's with an 'm')."