*Ahem*
...they saidWASHINGTON, July 19 It is a lobbying dream team that calls itself The Big Four: a Hollywood star turned politician, a formidable East Coast fund-raiser, a close friend of the president and the president's little brother. They are among the nation's most prominent Republican governors - Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, George E. Pataki of New York, Rick Perry of Texas and Jeb Bush of Florida ... ...The men brought their combined weight to bear last week in a letter adorned with the seals of their states - informing Republican Congressional leaders, by way of introduction, that there was a new political force to be reckoned with here in the nation's capital. "As governors of the four most populous states, we represent over one-third of the nation's gross domestic product," the July 15 letter said pointedly. "Our states employ over 43 million people and represent the largest agricultural, manufacturing, technology, tourism and service-based economies in the country." ..."To give credit where credit is due, the California folks [read: "Ahnold"] were very aggressive about putting this together," said one New York official involved in the efforts to bring the governors together. "This was one of their big things." ...all four governors agreed to sign their names to the letter, which was sent to J. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House; Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader; and two other powerful Congressional Republicans.
not a girly-man . . .
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