In my old stomping grounds of Staten Island New York….it’s called omertà ….at the Republican retreat it means no freaking blogging about what happened at the retreat.
But by now, you know I am a little on the anti authoritarian side of things. But rather than provide specifics on some of the policy discussions that a) I didn’t understand, and b) I didn’t understand…..I thought I’d pass on what I do understand.
It’s no big revalation that Ronald Reagan means a lot to us as a party. Yet I was struck that you could not only see, but feel the dynamic change when these guys came back from the Ronald Reagan Library. Oh sure…Air Force 1 was cool they said…but here was a renewed sense of purpose after reliving the fall of the Berlin Wall….or that seeing how sticking to your principals is more than a phrase. That actingly like a majority…thinking like a majority…is as important, if not more important than understanding that the incumbent protection redistricting plan is pretty solid.
When was the last time the Assembly Republican Leader raised more than the sitting Speaker? That doesn’t happen when you think small…maybe that’s explains why McCarthy excused himself at an inappropriate time to take a call from the father of the revolution…Newt Gingrich.
Reform is now a way of life for these guys…I don’t sense a lot of desire to simply follow the Governor. Oh to be sure…they all signed this kumbaya opposing withdrawing the Republican endorsement of the Gov….but I don’t get a sense these guys are driven by politics….This group says they’re ready to lead on some very big issues….Pay As You Go was just the first good idea….there are at least a handful that are ready to be rolled out ….signed off on by a united caucus…that will force both the Governor and the Democrats to the table. Don’t tell these guys they don’t have the numbers….
I’d love to tell you about the one member who got left behind at the Reagan Library….or the one whose white shirt was the victim of a little red wine….or the staffer who thought mixing red wine with a cosmo was a fine idea….but my lips are sealed….not because I work for these guys…but because I get omerta