Big-government liberals may have won the first round in the fight over SCHIP, which passed the House yesterday and will be debated in the Senate today. But conservatives scored a significant victory in the House by losing only five Republicans, ensuring that President Bush’s veto would be sustained. Credit goes to Minority Leader John Boehner (R.-Ohio) and Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R.-Mo.) for rallying the troops.

The key over the next month will be targeting House members who voted to expand the children’s health insurance program by $50 billion over 10 years. There are several Democrats in Republican-leaning districts who won’t want their constituents to hear that they’ve passed a huge new entitlement. The National Republican Congressional Committee plans to make sure voters hear exactly that.