Here we go again Fergwadsakes: House Republican leaders are now betting they can come up with 218 GOP votes for the FY2024 defense authorization bill after essentially ending any hope of a bipartisan deal with Democrats. Speaker Kevin McCarthy is giving the House Freedom Caucus and other conservative hardliners what they’ve demanded all week — dozens of “culture war” amendment votes on the $886 billion NDAA package. Conservatives threatened to derail the defense-authorization bill unless they got these votes. The House will take up these amendments today in what promises to be a long and bitterly partisan slugfest. McCarthy wants to vote on final passage for the NDAA bill by Friday. You can see the list of NDAA amendments here. These GOP amendments run the gamut of conservative talking points. They cover everything from the Pentagon’s abortion policy, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives, Covid-19 vaccines, critical race theory and transgender-related medical services. Ukraine, China and Taiwan are also key amendment topics. If some or all of these poison-pill provisions are added to the defense authorization legislation — which Congress has enacted every year since the early 1960s — then Democrats will oppose the measure. The House Armed Services Committee initially passed the bill by an overwhelming 58-1 vote on June 22. The most high-profile amendment is authored by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). Jackson’s proposal would bar the Pentagon “from paying for or reimbursing expenses relating to abortion services.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has been holding up dozens of military promotions for months in a bid to force the Pentagon to rescind the abortion…