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InstaPundit reports from the Republican party grass roots:

Bush should worry, though, because his policies are alienating the base. Some of the right-wing mailing lists that I get are turning nearly as anti-Bush as they used to be anti-Clinton .. I've followed this list (it's basically a gun-rights list) for a while. It's a pretty good weathervane for the sentiments of a chunk of the right, and it has shifted notably against Bush over the past few months. I expect that Karl Rove thinks he can hang on to these people, and maybe he will. But from here, it looks like he's got serious problems with the base.

UPDATE: Jonah Goldberg suspects that Bush is intentionally putting a stick in the eye of his base in order to garner increased support among those who loath conservative Republicans.

And this from Tim Green: "The Bushes seem to be missing the point that the NEA is for many fiscal conservatives Exhibit A of spending seriousness: if you can't save pennies on chocolate-smearing performance artists, where can you save? They've obviously decided that being "pro-arts" is a good move toward moderate Repubs with money, and a cheap one at that."

And a Corner reader adds, "In exchange for such a minor price, Pres Bush shows that he's got a warm spot in his heart for the Arts (probably with some advice from the beauteous Mrs Bush) and stands up to those mean, awful, artless conservatives who want to use the money to buy lug nuts for fighter planes."