Stimulus struggle hints at a party showdown

The monthlong struggle over the stimulus plan left behind a smoking battlefield of partisanship, but it also set the stage for a political collision on a scale seldom seen in Washington -- a showdown on a succession of even more divisive issues that could shadow the future of the two major parties.

Against the background of the worst economic crisis in three-quarters of a century, Congress passed the $787-billion economic recovery bill without a ... Full Story »