President George Bush has issued the orders, and now his loyal adherents will carry them out.

Yesterday Bush declared that he would veto legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, calling the proposal unconstitutional. Today the Post reports that Republican leaders in the House are pushing members to vote against the legislation (originally scheduled for a vote today, but pushed off until as late as next week), going so far as to offer incentives to secure that Republicans don’t cross party lines or vote for something — gasp! — on principle. From the article:

But House GOP leaders are making clear that they will fight the bill’s passage. Davis said they were trying to bring party members in line, a process known as “whipping,” which involves offering incentives such as committee appointments.

“They’re taking names on this. It’s very disappointing,” [Rep. Tom] Davis said.

Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), said the party wants “to make the strongest showing possible” against a bill it considers unconstitutional.

“We hope this bill meets the same fate as all of the other bills Democrats have brought forward to date — which is a slow but certain death in the Senate,” he said.

Of course, the Constitution isn’t the only issue some Republicans are concerned about, according to the article:

Some Republicans, though, have said openly that they fear the bill could benefit Democrats politically by providing a precedent that could be used to add two Senate seats for the District.

We never much thought the legislation’s constitutionality was the reason for the uproar. After all, how many Republicans (or Democrats, for that matter) can honestly say they run every bill they vote for by a team of constitutional scholars and lawyers? Not many. Thankfully, principled Republicans do exist — yes, Rep. Pence, we mean you — and we’re hoping they might bring some likeminded legislators along with them.