PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: More from the better late than never department:

Senate Republicans are squabbling amongst themselves over immigration reform. President Bush is fighting a losing battle with his base. But in the House of Representatives, times couldn’t be better for the GOP.

House Republicans have coalesced around the issue of federal spending, handing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a stinging defeat on earmark reform and sending their liberal colleagues a unified message not to exceed the president’s budget requests.

For conservatives who stayed home last Election Day, it’s refreshing to see someone in Washington paying attention again. . . .

What’s most significant about these developments is the way they came about. In both cases, conservative ideas quickly snowballed into party-unifying messages. Boehner and Blunt, both of whom faced challenges from the right for their current leadership posts, have embraced their onetime foes.

Of course, if they’d done this kind of thing a year ago, they might still be in the majority.