How conservatives can win
September 4, 2008 | By Nathaniel Ward
As the political parties meet to formally choose their presidential candidates, it is all the more important that conservatives stand their ground and uphold their principles.
In fact, upholding these principles is the route to electoral success. Heritage president Ed Feulner writes on FoxNews.com that traditional American values like limited government make for a winning formula at the polls.
Feulner dismisses the conventional wisdom in the media that Republicans should “ditch conservatism,” which they call “intellectually bankrupt.”
“That might make sense if you equate the Republican Party with conservatism,” he writes. “The governing style that culminated in the GOP’s defeat in 2006, however, shows that Republicans have suffered largely because they haven’t been conservative enough.”
On issues like immigration, federal spending, national security and more, he explains, it is conservative ideas that have prevailed electorally. Progressive notions have been consigned to the ash-heap of history—yet conservatives must remain ever vigilant, since with the help of die-hard liberals and their media allies, these tired ideas continue to rear their heads.
Restoring first principles in our schools
As the election nears, it is important to continue to educate the American people about our nation’s founding principles. For conservatives, this is not just a short-term goal but a long-term imperative.
The Heritage Foundation and its supporters are taking the lead in this effort.
The Atlanta Committee for Heritage, for example, recently arranged to donate copies of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution to 185 high schools in Atlanta, Ga. and ten surrounding counties.
Committee members “believe this book is a valuable resource that should be made available to all students studying the Constitution,” explains Dr. John McNair, who serves on the Atlanta Committee and spearheaded the donation effort.
The Guide, a project overseen by Heritage scholar and former Attorney General Ed Meese, offers a line-by-line analysis of the Constitution and what its authors really meant. Order your copy today.
Heritage has also worked with talk radio hosts Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham to remind Americans how the Constitution remains important to today’s debates. Through our work with them, we have given away nearly 600,000 free pocket copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Constitution Day is coming up on September 17, so order yours today.
Blogging the conventions—part II
To ensure conservatives have a real voice at the Republican National Convention, Heritage’s Conn Carroll is blogging live from the Twin Cities this week.
His coverage has touched on several of the most important issues in this election. For example, he reviewed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech on the importance of securing our nation’s energy supply not just for economic purposes but for national security reasons. He also reported on an event on education, during which one panelist called teaching future generations “the biggest strategic issue we face.”
Energy and education are two key initiatives in Heritage’s ten-year Leadership for America campaign to get America back on track.
Carroll was in Denver last week to blog from the Democrats’ convention.
Other Heritage work of note
- American Leadership. FARC, Columbia’s notorious Marxist terrorist organization, may be on its last legs, Heritage national security analyst Peter Brookes writes in Armed Forces Journal. The group has suffered a series of setbacks, including revelations of ties with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and, most dramatically, the humiliating rescue by government forces of 15 hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.
- Entrepreneurship. A repeated theme in the media and on the campaign trail is that American workers face increasing economic insecurity. Layoffs are increasing, the conventional wisdom holds, and workers are compelled by circumstances to change jobs frequently. But the facts don’t support this, according to a new report from Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis prepared by economist James Sherk. “Government data show that American workers are substantially less likely to lose their jobs today than they were a generation ago,” Sherk writes. “Today, many more workers change jobs voluntarily. The reports of middle-aged workers heartlessly laid off misrepresent the experiences of most Americans.”
- Entitlements and Health Care. Medicare will be almost $86 trillion in the red in just a few years, according to an official government report. But the entitlement program’s deficits are actually worse than that, Heritage budget expert J.D. Foster reveals in a new research paper, since the government report is based on faulty assumptions that understate the cost of paying doctors. The true cost is actually $91.5 trillion—or $91,500,000,000,000, the equivalent of seven full years of economic output.
- America’s highway trust fund is set to run out of money next year, and Heritage’s Ron Utt reports that this could have dire consequences. “Unless the fund is replenished soon, federal spending on highways could decline significantly,” he warns. There is a solution, though: the government should “re-concentrate the fund’s focus on highway investment and safety by abandoning the many low priority and non-transportation diversions that now encumber the federal program.”
- Heritage scholar and former Attorney General Edwin Meese writes in the New York Times but his memories from the 1980 Republican convention, when he was an aide to candidate Ronald Reagan.
In other news
- In March, Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri issued an executive order requiring businesses in the state to check the immigration status of their new employees. Now the ACLU is suing to block this measure on the grounds that it could encourage discrimination against foreign-born workers.
- Vice President Dick Cheney condemned Russia’s invasion of Georgia as an “illegitimate, unilateral attempt” to extend its borders by force of arms.
- The economy’s productivity increased at a higher-than-expected rate between April and June, the government reports.
- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to visit Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi on Friday. She is the highest-ranking American official to visit Libya since Vice President Nixon made a trip in 1957.
- “Cocaine and methamphetamine use among young adults declined significantly last year as supplies dried up,” the AP reports, but overall use of illegal drugs remained constant. There is good news: use of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, fell among teens.
- Detroit’s mayor, who pleaded guilty Thursday to a series of criminal charges, will resign his post.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage’s website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- On Tuesday, September 9 at 11:00 a.m., a panel of experts discusses ways to ensure America’s military is fully funded and does not become a “hollow force” like it did after Vietnam.
- On Tuesday, September 23 at 6:00 p.m., Heritage hosts a screening of Flunked, a film highlighting the common threads of successful education: strong leadership, high standards, excellent teachers, and solid curricula.
