I hate to tell you, but while your friend might be republican, with his attitudes, he is NO conservative.
I am very well aware that my friend is on the wrong side of many issues. He is a religous person who is fervently anti-gay marraige, pro-family, and pro-life. However, being in DC has a way of changing people over time and not for the better. I was just illustrating the insulated mentality of the DC political industry (for lack of a better word). All I can hope for is that they will "get it" by August so that the November elections won't be as bad.
Love the screen name. If my mythogology is correct, I believe Surtur was the leader of the Fire Giants in Norse mythology. And I did not have to use Wikipedia to look that one up.