There's nobody left to say no to wasteful federal programs. 

For as long as anyone can remember, Republicans and spending cuts have gone together like trains and tracks. But this year, you're more likely to hear Al Gore toast Monica Lewinsky than to find George W. Bush promising to trim the federal budget. Largely unnoticed, GOP leaders have not only given up the fight, they've defected to the other side. Bush is the first Republican nominee in decades to propose no significant spending reductions. In fact, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, proposals he has made so far would add $76 billion a year in federal expenditures.

Bush won't get much argument from congressional Republicans—those fiscal watchdogs who have lost their bite. Back in 1995, the House Budget Committee envisioned a drastic downsizing of the federal bureaucracy, proposing to kill three Cabinet departments, 14 agencies, 68 commissions, and 283 spending programs. But the crusade soon fizzled. Almost everything on the list is still alive and well. A recent study  by the Cato Institute found that between 1996 and 2000, domestic discretionary spending rose 14 percent faster than the inflation rate. Even programs that were supposed to be zeroed out, such as the Education Department, are awash in cash.

And the GOP can't blame this all on Bill Clinton. "In the past three years," says the Cato study, "the Republican discretionary budgets have exceeded the White House requests by a total of more than $30 billion." The party that once campaigned against Big Government has made peace with, at least, medium government.

Consider a few of the items targeted for major cuts and how they have fared:

The Department of Education: It was slated for extinction when the GOP took over Congress in 1995. But in two of the last three years, says Cato, Congress has approved more spending than President Clinton requested. And Bush proposes to surpass even that sum, adding $11 billion to its budget.

Farm subsidies: The 1996 "Freedom to Farm" act was supposed to finally wean agriculture off welfare. But when farmers found the new row tough to hoe, Congress approved so much emergency spending that payments to farmers actually increased. Bush offers a new crop: an insurance program priced at $6 billion a year.

"Impact Aid": Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan both thought we spend far too much paying local school districts to educate the children of military personnel—including those whose parents live off-base and pay property taxes to finance schools. Newt Gingrich and Co. wanted to abolish the program. Bush says it deserves an extra $310 million a year.

Energy conservation: A relic of the Carter-era energy crisis, this was cited by Republicans as a prime example of Washington trying to handle a task that belonged to the free market. But since 1993, its claim on the federal treasury has grown by 26 percent.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting: With hundreds of channels available to TV viewers, offering everything from nightly history tutorials to opera and ballet, this program looked like it had used up the last of its lives in 1995. But Gingrich proved no match for Kermit the Frog. This year's budget is up 36 percent from two years ago.

The Commerce Department: Denounced as a fount of corporate welfare, it was supposed to be eliminated entirely, and it took an 11 percent cut after the GOP gained power. The following year, it started growing again, and it's getting more money this year than it got before the cut.