I guess he didn't drink the Kool-Aid

I am really surprised that this sort of thing didn't get more ink, or at least more attention by the left half of the blog world... it really is something else:

House Republican leaders last night voted to oust Rep. Christopher Smith as chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, a move prompted by the New Jersey lawmaker's failure to follow the party line and his insistence on increasing spending for veterans.

The decision to replace Smith (R-4th Dist.) with Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), a Persian Gulf War veteran, was made behind closed doors by the House Republican Steering Committee under the direction of Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas).

The change, which was quickly denounced by leaders of several veterans' groups, is expected to be ratified today by the entire Republican caucus as part of a package of committee assignments. Smith also is expected to lose his seat on the veterans panel, which he has held for 24 years.

"It all came down to the fact I wanted to spend too much on veterans," Smith said following a 90-minute meeting in which he detailed the 22 laws he authored to help veterans in his four years as chairman.

"For me, it's about principles, about doing right regardless of the consequences," said Smith. "You help your team by helping the country, and the most worthy individuals on the planet, in my view, are the veterans because they have made the sacrifice."

For the GOP, following the party line and doing what is right for the country seem to most often be two separate things...