What do Tim Gunn and Ronald Reagan have in common?

  “Make it work.” 

At least, that’s what John J. Pitney Jr. says:

In his 1981 inaugural, Ronald Reagan famously said: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” He was right. Errors in monetary policy had led to stagflation, and federal regulations had the perverse effect of creating gasoline shortages. But many people forget what he said moments later: “[I]t’s not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work-work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back.”

The key words are “make it work.” We conservatives believe in government that is limited and effective. Washington should not try to do everything, but when it does take on a task, it should do it well. That is why Hurricane Katrina was a political disaster for the Republican party. Rightly or wrongly, most people thought that the Bush administration had responded ineptly, and the perception of incompetence dogs the party to this day. Republican governors can help repair the damage by supplying models of skillful conservative governance. So when we’re seeking answers to our political problems, we should look not just to Washington but to Juneau, Indianapolis, and Baton Rouge.