Roll Call - Calls Them the Badger Brat Pack

Badger Brat Pack Charting GOP's Path

How three men from southeast Wisconsin rose to the top ranks of the Republican Party

    By David M. Drucker          

    Roll Call Staff

    April 9, 2013, 6:41 p.m.; Corrected April 10, 2013 7:41 a.m.     

Badger State Republicans swear that there’s nothing in the water in southeast Wisconsin. But for the next few years, the GOP’s fate could rest with three men who hail from there and who have become crucial leaders in the national party.

The trio, House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, has a strong personal and professional bond. They talk regularly and compare notes on policy and political strategy, alternately offering and seeking advice. Ryan, 43, and Walker, 45, are considered strong 2016 presidential contenders, and it’s up to Priebus to ensure that the eventual GOP nominee is backed by a modernized, competitive field and data operation.

Unclear is whether Walker will defer to Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee, on a 2016 White House run.

I call them

Larry, Moe, and Curly