Seeding the Grass Roots
Herewith, the video corresponding with my liveblogging of the Republican Northeast Conference. First was the welcoming presentation of event co-chair Louis Pope; Governor Carcieri’s speech is in the extended entry.
Tony Blankley’s been giving a lunchtime speech; I’ve been eating. He’s been talking organization, digital technologies, the Obamenon. One interesting point he’s made is that there’s some comparison between Reagan’s accomplishment and Obama’s. The difference about which he’s hopeful is that Reagan changed people’s minds about governing philosophy. Obama sold himself on one theme and…
Speaker Co-Chair Louis Pope (from Maryland) is opening the day. He put attendance around 170 and continuing to grow. He also pointed out a group of about eight Republicans who flew in all the way from Puerto Rico. (“They don’t get a lot of snow, in Puerto Rico, but the RNC puts them in the…
Following the opening event of the Republican North East Conference (video of which is in the extended entry), I followed up with Vermont Governor Jim Douglas regarding the need to define a “Northeastern Republican”: stream, download. His answer wasn’t particularly Earth-shattering, but it struck me as astute, in an understated Vermontian way. His emphasis is…
Breaking my rule of thumb never to enter into Newport after working hours, I’ve arrived at the Marriott to attend the opening events of the Republican National Committee’s Northeast Conference. Inasmuch as I almost drove an eight-foot-high van into a 6’3″ parking garage, I’d like to take the opportunity to renew my economic development advice…
The tea party movement was born, in large part, as a response to a political class that was assuming that no serious public discussion was needed about whether bigger, more centralized government was better, whenever the government declared that bigger, more centralized government was necessary. Contra to this idea, an important feature of the 2009…
The Gaspee [correction] The Brig Beaver (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) The Crowd The Theme Flagage A name that’s been in the news lately … Right to assemble, right of free speech, right to wear a Spiderman hat: new Americans exercising some of their new rights
Ocean State Policy Research Institue was good enough to invite me to its fundraising event at the Providence Marriott featuring famed tax hawk Grover Norquist. Some of Norquist’s speech was familiar from his last appearance in Rhode Island, but considering all that has happened — with the election, tea parties, legislative assaults, healthcare — there…
Rob Long’s piece on the summer’s town hall meetings (subscription required) is characteristically humorous, but he’s clearly missing something in the American air: It’s strictly a summer affair — when there are soccer games to get to and the weather gets chilly, most of the firebrands will be too busy and distracted to head on…
I’ll be the first to acknowledge the prominence of self interest in the development and ascendance of local taxpayer groups. Members take up political arms, as it were, for a variety of reasons, and often those reasons are decidedly materialistic in nature. Therewith comes the sliver of truth to Phil’s cartoonish characterization of the simmering…
