TRUE: The GOP Is Better Locally Than Nationally.

At the state level, the GOP has been remarkably effective at ushering in reform over the last seven years; at the federal level, by contrast, it has been able only to hold the line. This, of course, is partly because the GOP has only just got full control of the federal government, whereas it has been running most of the states for half a decade now.

But one can’t help but notice the difference in ambition. At the state level, Republicans have ruthlessly passed right to work legislation, even in unlikely places such as Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin; they have expanded charter schools; they have done yeoman’s work restoring the Second Amendment; they have cut taxes and regulation; and they have enacted as many pro-life measures as the courts have allowed. They have, in other words, lived up to their billing.

At the federal level, meanwhile, they have narrowed their intentions from the get-go.

Yes, state level GOP folks are outperforming expectations, while national ones are underperforming. Which is no small feat given how low the expectations are. . . .