Glenn Reynolds has seven pieces of advice for the new Congress

Ryan Streeter

Glenn Reynolds had some straightforward words of advice for the new Congress in the Sunday Examiner. In short, his advice is, "don't blow it," backed by 7 good points (summarized in my words, mainly):

1. Don't get cocky.
2. Go after bold reforms; don't play small ball. The political class will tremble, and the public will reward you for it.
3. Look beyond Congress for a number of good reform ideas bubbling up around the Republic.
4. Ignore the press, as they are growing weaker and more defensive.
5. Repeal the "awful Digital Millennium Copyright Act" to help un-do the left's government-backed infrastructure.
6. Lead by example: say no to the perks of office.
7. Remember these are serious times, and so don't get distracted by the things in Washington that ultimately won't matter to repairing the problems we find ourselves facing.

These largely sound good to me. The last one strikes me as the most important. It's easy to get distracted in Washington. Some person or lobby gets you to take up their cause, which in turn helps you carve out a niche - and then you run around herding cats when you should be slaying dragons.

("7" must be the magic number right now. I put forward my seven ideas this morning on a slightly different, but related topic: broadening out the conservative coalition.)