In an op-ed, W. James Antle III says the policy alliances Sen. Mike Lee has created with Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio could be the most important Republican collaborations in Washington in recent memory.
Lee and Rubio have worked together on what they describe as “pro-growth, pro-family tax reform.” The broad strokes are consistent with supply-side economics, but the details are more focused on lowering tax bills for families with children rather than fixating on the top marginal income tax rate.
Rubio and Lee have similar ideas for using devolution to fix entitlements for the poor. They would send block grants to the states to fund many anti-poverty programs currently run by Washington. The two also talk about a bigger role for civil society.
Now, it’s not as if these three senators are in lockstep. Rubio hasn’t yet joined with Lee on seeking greater Bill of Rights protections in the war on terror. Paul hasn’t joined his old friend in pushing a family-friendly tax code with an expanded refundable child credit. Paul prefers the flat tax.
In a speech at the Heritage Foundation last year, Lee reminded conservatives that when the next presidential election rolls around, Ronald Reagan’s 1980 victory will be as long ago as D-Day was at that time. But Lee has decided to follow Reagan’s model of trying to provide tangible benefits to middle-class families through limited-government means.
