“The Department of Defense is a government bureaucracy, cousin to the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the rest. That means it has the same Dawn of the Dead–zombie instincts.”

Stephanie Gutmann’s National Review Online blog post perfectly encapsulates the frustration fiscal conservatives have toward their national security brethren. It similarly reflects the conundrum facing the House Republican leadership as it prepares for the murderous-yet-critical period, beginning next week, when it begins to try to operationalize its shrink-the-government mandate. Having to distinguish between government priorities is so much messier than just taking a chain saw to everything equally.