Heritage Members News | Winter 2006

Right on course

The Fall President’s Club meeting

Sean Hannity, renowned conservative talk show host, tells President's Club members that America needs Heritage "more than ever" to promote the vision and ideas set forth by our Founding Fathers.

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“Picture a ship at sea, its sails full and straining in the wind…imperceptibly, the rudder has veered off course and, in time, the captain and crew will face unexpected peril.”

With his address to Heritage’s President’s Club fall meeting, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) set the tone for the November event. “The conservative movement today is like that ship,” Rep. Pence warned, “with its proud captain…veering off course into the dangerous…waters of big government Republicanism.”

A champion of fiscal discipline, Rep. Pence is a leader of the fight for smaller, more focused government. Rep. Pence noted conservative victories under President George W. Bush’s leadership, but questioned policies like the Medicare prescription drug plan that threaten to bankrupt our nation.

“This is not a sign of disloyalty,” Rep. Pence noted of conservative criticism of the Bush Administration, “but of true loyalty to principle.”

Rep. Pence spoke at The Heritage Foundation’s semi-annual President’s Club meeting held in Washington, D.C. Joining him on the all-star lineup were FOX News and syndicated talk-show host Sean Hannity, former Senator—and current star of NBC’s Law and Order—Fred Thompson, and U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

President’s Club members heard about how Heritage wins attention in Congress and the news media. Heritage experts James Carafano, Michael Franc, Alison Acosta Fraser and Rebecca Hagelin focused on Heritage’s work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Heritage sounded the alarm over the mounting costs of the cleanup effort, and called for Congress to offset hurricane cleanup costs with cuts in entitlement and pork-barrel spending. One such call was the infamous Alaskan “Bridge to Nowhere.”

Members gathered for a dinner that was both inspiring and entertaining. The inspiration came during the Pledge of Allegiance, which was delivered by two wounded servicemen from the D.C.-area Fisher House—a “home away from home” for families of patients at military medical centers.

For entertainment, Heritage turned to FOX News and syndicated talk-show host Sean Hannity, whose keynote address was equal parts stand-up comedy and thoughtful political analysis. This was followed by the presentation of Heritage’s prestigious Clare Boothe Luce Award to Paul Weyrich—a leader of the conservative movement and one of the founders of Heritage. In presenting the award, Heritage Trustees noted Weyrich’s behind-the-scenes political smarts, as well as his efforts to free those shackled by communism.

On the second day of the President’s Club meeting, members took in a series of policy briefings on topics such as health care, education, federal spending and national security. Secretary of Labor—and former Heritage Distinguished Fellow—Elaine Chao fielded questions from the crowd and offered detailed updates on policy issues facing the Bush Administration.

President’s Club members left our fall 2005 meeting reinvigorated for the coming political battles and recommitted to conservative principles. Thanks to Heritage and its supporters, the ship of conservatism is navigating troubled waters and surging forward to build an even stronger America.