Right. When have you ever known of a law that wasn't "expanded?"
Political capital is not endless, and the fanatical prolifers have depleted quite a bit here, both for themselves AND for the GOP. The fact that they forced the US federal government to get involved in this will NOT be forgotten by those who will shortly be quite embarassed by this whole thing. Certainly, the state of Florida, which is vital to any presidential hopeful, will long remember what the outside activist groups wrought there, and how certain lawmakers danced on their strings.
This issue has also shown that the GOP coalition does indeed have fault lines. As many have said before, they fall directly along the line between "Fiscal/National Security Conservative" and "Religio-Social Conservative". Those in group #2 have now demonstrated that things such as State's Rights, rule of law, and reason instead of emotionalism matter not a whit when they WWAAAAANNNTTTTT something. Rest assured, Karl Rove and others are taking good notes right now, and are surely taking note of which groups threatened the President, Florida governor, and Congressional Republicans with all manner of Hell if they didn't toe this particular line. In other words, they have proclaimed that their support is quite unreliable and subject to whim. Not that Rove didn't already know this (Think 2000 election), but it's nice to have proof.
Fallout: WHen the FACTS that such dogged truth-seekers as Peach and Hildy have ferreted out become more widely known among conservatives (and they WILL now that FR apparently accepts their posting), and the elected officials and honest, caring people who've been hoodwinked get the word that they've been lied to and their efforts abused, not only will they be rightly embarassed, they will also be quite angry at those who conned them.
All of which means that the GOP is facing a reckoning within itself that MUST be acknowledged and FIXED before 2008. Hillary! is surely watching the proceedings with amusement.
I hope they get their pants sued off.