U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda has become, in her first week in office, a cautionary tale for other Democrats.!After Boyda last week told ABC that she would vote to finance a troop surge in Iraq, she raised the ire of antiwar activists nationwide, the L.A. Times reports today:_It did not take long for Rep. Nancy Boyda, a freshman Democrat from Kansas, to learn the price of defying her party’s liberal base. After she said she would support President Bush if he proposed an increase in U.S. troop levels in Iraq, antiwar bloggers fumed and MoveOn.org, the liberal advocacy group, considered running a television ad attacking her.__”If a member of Congress is wrong on Iraq, that is not what we voted for,” said Tom Matzzie, MoveOn’s Washington director. “There will be people watching to make sure they do the right thing.”__MoveOn.org, meanwhile, is planning a series of radio and television ads attacking lawmakers who support the Iraq war and its expansion.__Just hours before she was sworn in, Boyda said on ABC that she would support funding for a troop increase because Bush, not Congress, had the authority to make the decision. “I think we’re going to vote to support what the commander-in-chief and head of the military asks,” said Boyda, who won an upset victory over a Republican incumbent in a conservative-leaning district.__Her staff did not respond to a request for comment.__Her statement on television was met with angry responses on the website of the Lawrence Journal-World.__”As a constituent who gave money to and campaigned for Nancy Boyda, my disappointment is deep and real,” said one correspondent. “Boyda will be a one-termer if she does not get this one right.”_That comment came in this blog, from commenter blackwalnut – who can now begin appending his-or-her posts: “As quoted in the Los Angeles Times!”We kid.In the meantime, though, Boyda is trying to do damage control. The Topeka Capital-Journal:_Rep. Nancy Boyda apologized Tuesday for a comment concerning the war in Iraq that she made to ABC News’ Charlie Gibson last week.__”I want to apologize for an unclear and poorly stated response,” she said during a morning teleconference. “Just the whole interaction there could have been done better.”__President Bush will address the nation at 8 p.m. tonight on the situation in Iraq. He is expected to propose a surge in troop levels in Baghdad.__She attributed the gaffe to “first-week jitters.”__While she said she was sorry for her phrasing, Boyda didn’t back down from her position that she would vote for funding a surge of troops into Iraq even though she is against the idea.__”I have always said I would support our men and women (in the military) and certainly their families as well,” Boyda said. “I think that’s going to leave me with a very troubling vote, and that is to fund military operations that I consider to be misguided.”_If you haven’t seen it, here is the ABC report that started the tempest:Also: Here is what the blogosphere is saying.Other headlines today:Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(CattleNetwork.com) KLA: Roberts Says Expanded Assistance Needed Immediately: U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts told the Bush Administration yesterday that western Kansas needs assistance “immediately, not next week, next month or next year.” He said the 44 counties declared federal disaster areas due to the December 28-31 winter storm need federal government resources to restore power and clear massive amounts of snow. Roberts noted the administration only declared states of disaster in two areas: debris removal and emergency protection. Specifically, Roberts is requesting that snow and deceased cattle be included in the technical definition of “debris removal.” He said additional aid needs to be approved for assistance with public utilities, roads, bridges, water control facilities and public buildings.