Broder makes an interesting point

With the "Southern rump" GOP expected to stand against the stimulus package, it's particularly interesting that Obama put long respected GOP House member Lahood in as Transportation Secretary, the man most likely to take their fire in House Committee hearings on any stimulus package.

All the signs are that the stimulus spending will be opposed by congressional Republicans, whose shrunken ranks are increasingly dominated by right-wing Southerners who care not what their stance does to harm the party's national image.

The spectacle of LaHood facing off in congressional testimony against those naysayers will dramatize a split that is crippling the GOP.

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