The Reform Governors Who Led the Way

[Valin]

WSJ:

o understand today's Republican Party, look to the state houses.

KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL

8/27/12

 

Tampa, Fla.

 

Republicans meet at the Tampa Bay Times Forum this week to spell out their vision for the country. It needn't be an exercise in imagination.

 

The party's transformative spirit is already on vivid display, thanks to a crop of reformist Republican governors. With the GOP stymied in Washington, these state leaders—from Chris Christie in New Jersey to Scott Walker in Wisconsin—have become the heart of the conservative movement, many pursuing the sort of thorough overhauls of government once considered impossible. In many cases, the changes are already showing dramatic, positive economic results. Think of the reform governors as the vanguard of the far-reaching policy reforms that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan now want to bring to the national arena.

 

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Most important, these governors' leadership, and their ability to survive the left's onslaughts, have inspired followers and emboldened the party to continue tackling the tough stuff. "We like to talk about political capital, and how to spend it wisely," says Mr. Daniels of Indiana. "But it happens that—just like other capital—if it is invested wisely, it returns to you, and you can put into the next effort, and the next, and the next."

 

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