It didn't take long. Democrats have already started to spend, spend, spend. They've added nearly $25 billion in non-emergency spending to the emergency "supplemental" Iraq/Afghanistan spending bill: http://www.examiner.com/a-622145~Rotten_politics_in_porky_Iraq_funding.html

the measure has been stuffed with such essential defense measures as:
» $74 million for peanut storage
» $25 million for spinach growers
» $100 million for citrus growers
» $16 million to build new office space for the House of Representatives
» $60 million for Indian tribes and fishermen affected by declining salmon populations in the Northwest
» $50 million for asbestos abatement at the Capitol Hill Power Plant
» $120 million for the shrimp and menhaden industries
» $283 million for extending the small dairy farm income loss contract program

http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070313-090316-5575r.htm

Democrats added $4.3 billion for agricultural-disaster assistance, $2.9 billion in additional Gulf Coast recovery costs, $400 million for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program, $1 billion for pandemic flu preparation, $735 million for a children's health-insurance program and several other matters. These belong in a separate bill, where their merits can be debated. Democrats wrongly seek to turn the war-fighting spending bill into the fabled legislative Christmas tree by adorning it with log-rolling ornaments.

But wait, what about that "Paygo" budget rule? Didn't Democrats put an end to this sort of thing when they promised that any new spending had to be offset with either spending cuts or tax hikes? Oops, looks like that promise is already out the window:

Democrats are playing games by designating normal expenditures as emergencies. That means they don't have to provide any offsets to pay for them.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/hottopic/?id=110009799&mod=RSS_Opi...

This bill has everything the modern military doesn't need. There's $25 million for spinach, designed to attract the vote of Sam Farr, a California farm-region liberal. Perhaps spinach growers who lost business due to last year's E. coli scare need this taxpayer bailout, but it won't intimidate the Taliban unless Mr. Farr plans to draft Popeye.

Other lowlights include $20 million to restore farmland damaged by freezing temperatures, and $1.48 billion for livestock farmers. And don't forget the $74 million "to ensure proper storage for peanuts," an urgent national-security need. This happens to be about the same amount that House Democrats propose to increase spending for operations of the Army Reserve, so it's good to see Congress has its priorities in order.

Then there are the provisions to raise the minimum wage, at one pace for the continental U.S. but at a separate, slower pace for the Northern Mariana Islands. And $500 million for "urgent wildland fire suppression"--that's forest fires, not weapons fire. There's so much more, if only the press corps would take the time to look.

And of course the supplemental bill is only half the story. How about the actual budget resolution itself, which contains a "$18 billion increase over Bush's budget for nondefense programs" and provides for "an average budget increase of almost 5 percent" for domestic agencies? (http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_5429639 ) But that's not all -- "Democrats in both chambers have also vowed to provide $50 billion more over five years for the State Children's Health Insurance Program." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR200703... )

Of course, this spending still all has to be paid for somehow... which means tax hikes down the road in 2010 when the Bush tax cuts expire. Worse, there are no signs that Democrats are making any effort to fix our looming entitlement crisis, which means much bigger tax hikes further down the road as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid costs explode.

Hmmm... maybe the Democrats aren't very "fiscally responsible" after all.