Wednesday's vote in the U.S. House on a giant Omnibus budget bill wasn't even close, as the House voted 359-67 for the plan, with a large majority of Republicans ignoring pressure from outside groups that opposed the funding measure.
166 Republicans voted for the deal, while 64 GOP lawmakers went against it, even with two heavyweight conservative groups making clear that they would make the Omnibus a "key" vote on their 2014 election scorecard.
"This 1,582-page "omnibus" proposal is the product of the flawed Ryan-Murray deal," fumed the Club for Growth, which wanted the Omnibus defeated.
"Government spending does not add to employment in the aggregate or stimulate economic growth," said experts at Heritage Action, which also urged a 'No' vote on the measure.
But unlike other issues in the last few years when warnings from more conservative groups set off alarm bells among GOP lawmakers in the House, those red flags were again ignored by most.
In mid-December, Republicans also brushed aside the complaints of Heritage and the Club for Growth, as the House voted 332-94 in favor of the Ryan-Murray budget deal - 62 Republicans voted against that plan.
At the time, Speaker John Boehner publicly lashed out at outside Republican groups, accusing them of undercutting the GOP.
"Frankly, I think they've just lost all credibility," Boehner said in December of their opposition to the Ryan-Murray budget deal.
But even as Tea Party groups labeled the Omnibus a "monstrosity" and more, it was obvious that most GOP lawmakers in the House weren't listening.
Of the 62 Republicans who voted against the Ryan-Murray budget deal, 53 of them also voted against the Omnibus.
That block of 53 votes works out to almost 23 percent of the Republican conference in the House - right now, they seem to be the core supporters of the Tea Party on fiscal issues - but they are by no means the majority within the GOP.
One of those demanding a GOP vote against the Omnibus was Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), who is running for U.S. Senate in Texas against Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), whom Stockman argues is not conservative enough.
"I'm voting NO on the $1 TRILLION spending bill," Stockman tweeted on Wednesday.
But when the votes were tallied, Stockman was in the "Not Voting" column, as he missed the vote.
In fact, Stockman has missed every vote in the House since January 10.
It was only a few months ago that more conservative Republicans sparked a fight that led to a government shutdown, as they seemed to be driving the GOP's tactical choices.
Now they seem to be more of a distinct minority in the Republican Party - along with some more conservative outside groups as well.
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