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Newt Gingrich once said, "The number-one fact about the news media is that they love fights. When you give them confrontations, you get attention. When you get attention, you can educate." More than anything, our Minority must educate the American people about our renewed vision and thus, we must choose our battles wisely. Whether it be discharge petitions, extensive use of the unfunded mandates and earmark reform rules, vote-a-ramas, timely motions to adjourn, and filibusters by amendment during the appropriations season, rest assured our Minority will confront.This will not be a new terrain for me or my team. At the RSC, we used or advocated for many of these tools to move our agenda when appropriate. In addition, we initiated an internal rewrite of the House Rules that led us to offer numerous proposals to improve the rules to control spending and legislative transparency. While most were voted down, the effort deepened our understanding of the Institution and the specific levers at our disposal. Our team is knowledgeable, our team is motivated, and our team is prepared for the House floor.
That is not to say that we will only obstruct. Certainly not. We also will attempt to restart the old GOP-Boll Weevil coalition that proved so successful in the 1980s to advance President Reagan's revolution with a Democrat House and a Republican Senate. There are Blue Dog Democrats that want to balance the budget, address our nation's abounding debt, strengthen Social Security, and protect life and marriage. Our Minority will look for opportunities to work with them when there is agreement, and our hope will be that these occasions will not be few and far between.
http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/11/the_pence_visio.html#morePence is kind of a spooky little guy - He also writes this: "We came here to rekindle the fires of men, material, and morale that warm the warriors who stand on freedom's ramparts in far-off lands."