SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES NOT PLAYING BALL:

The White House is also having trouble with its traditional base of social conservatives. The New York Times reports that various conservative Christian groups wrote a letter to the White House indicating that they "lack [e]nthusiasm for changing the retirement system or other tax issues." The groups are "threatening to withhold support" for the privatization scheme "unless Mr. Bush vigorously champions a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage." This follows an earlier NY Times story about how social conservatives are at odds with the Big Business cronies of conservative lawmakers who only want to cut taxes for the wealthy. "People are not going to give the kind of support necessary for tax reform that leaves the investor class untaxed," said one top religious conservative leader.