For years, the Republican Study Committee has been Command Central for true conservatives in the House — a sort of internal think tank for those more interested in ideas than in careerism. It will be chaired this year by rising star Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio — and its new head of communications will be Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who is perfectly suited for the task. Scalise also has been making a name for himself as an aggressive and effective advocate for energy exploration and development. In a relaxed interview on the Gulf Coast during the Christmas break, he had plenty of interesting things to say, including a clever and accurate way to turn around an epithet the Democrats and establishment media (forgive me for repeating myself) like to hurl at Republicans. …..

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