Here is a lesson in congressional politics for those who think Democrats have carte-blanche to do anything they wish now that they control the House and Senate.

First, President Bush has the veto pen. He hasn't removed the cap on it yet, but he can veto anything sent to him approved by both the House and Senate.

Secondly, and even more important, is this little rule in the Senate referred to as the Cloture Rule.

cloture - The only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and thereby overcome a filibuster. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.

Simply put, Democrats can't pass squat without at least 9 Republicans going along. A bill in the senate can't even get a vote unless 60 senators say so.

So for all you Republicans that are as sick as I am of the media's anointing of Democrat power in Congress, now is the time to demand that Republicans play the same hardball that Democrats have been playing in blackmailing Bush into all sorts of spending boondoggles in exchange for their support of Bush's Defense and Homeland Security funding.

Can Republicans still play hardball like they did under Newt Gingrich's leadership in the late 80s and 90s? If they can't, or won't, then they don't deserve to ever get their power back.

And if Bush won't play hardball with the veto pen, then he'll live up to deserved criticism he has earned for his unwillingness to govern conservatively and play hardball with Democrats instead of forever compromising.