I've been in Congress for six years and got more out of this retreat than I did from any of the ones I've been to in the past. And whoever had the idea of including Senate members in the retreat should be congratulated for genius work. The principal debate, however, was over how the tax package was going to be presented as legislation, and how many votes would be needed to pass it. At Williamsburg, in both formal and informal settings, members debated the wisdom of this approach. Now there is a Republican President who won't veto his own tax-cut bill.
Many conservative lawmakers appreciate the significantly differently political environment.
This piecemeal approach will give the opposition an opportunity to splinter us, supporting parts of the package and then opposing others.