Libertas 36.1 by Young America's Foundation

SpriNg 2015

Inside: Professors You Need to Know An Interview with Dr. Walter Williams

Vol. 36

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No. 1

June 8, 2015

Dear Friends,

rofessor Burt Folsom is one of Young America’s Foundation’s most popular speakers. He has lectured at our conferences for 35 years. Burt is enthusiastic, well-spoken, humorous, and entertaining. However, I believe the content of his lectures accounts for why he is a student favorite. Dr. Folsom brings significant, historical facts to the discussion that are ignored or belittled by traditionally liberal textbooks. Students are awakened to the reality that leftist historians cut out or distort facts that might lead young people to question their big governmentoriented biases. Inspired by a recent Folsom lecture, I decided to look at how contemporary historians reported on the Reagan Administration. After all, many historians claim we live in “The Age of Reagan.” It is alarming how far afield from reality our current history lessons have become. The three leading advanced placement history review books—Barron’s, The Princeton Review, and Kaplan—all distort the Reagan record. The Princeton Review and Kaplan cite Reagan as saying he supported a “trickle down” theory of economics. In fact, as best I can tell, Ronald Reagan never used the term—especially not in any Presidential speech. Barron’s suggests, “Reaganomics bears a striking similarity to Herbert Hoover’s approach.” In fact, Reagan neither admired Hoover in Hoover’s Presidential years nor did he follow Hoover’s approach of increasing government expenditures to fight a recession or depression. Instead, Reagan lowered taxes and sought to cut government—neither approach taken by President Hoover. The history books suggest Reagan only lowered corporate taxes, not wage earners’ income taxes. Two of the three major texts quote George H. W. Bush as condemning Reagan’s tax cutting as “Voodoo economics”—something Bush said before the Reagan Administration and its tax cuts. The texts imply Bush made those comments at the end of the Reagan Administration. No text mentions Reagan won two landslide victories, and none credited him with winning the Cold War. Rather, it is suggested that his support of the Nicaraguan Freedom Fighters was the equivalent of an impeachable Watergate scandal! All this is to underscore why the Young America’s Foundation faculty, including Burt Folsom, Art Laffer, Walter Williams, Robbie George and Larry Schweikart, is crucial in accurately teaching the lessons of the successful Reagan Presidency. We may no longer assume our teachers, professors, and textbooks will provide an accurate history. We must rely on our own efforts to uphold the truth and accuracy. Sincerely,

Ron Robinson President

L IB E RTAS Spring 2015

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Volume 36

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Number 1

Barone, Rosen, Keene, Earhardt, and Obenshain Headline “A Time for Choosing” 50th Anniversary Celebration By Katie Taran, Director of Conferences

Professors You Need to Know — An Interview with Dr. Walter E. Williams By Jiesi Zhao, Esq., Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise

“Advancing Constitutional Conservatism” A Speech by The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch, United States Senator, Utah

Reverend Rafael Cruz Inspires High School Students at the Reagan Ranch By Katie Taran, Director of Conferences

Supporter Profile — Measure of a Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents’ Tailor By Wynton Hall, Author & Young America’s Foundation Director & Alumnus

YAF Chapter Chair Profiles — Today’s Rising Campus Leaders By Raj Kannappan, Director, YAF Chapter Services

On the Cover: VOL. 36

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NO. 1

Dr. Walter E. Williams, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University, is among the Foundation’s most popular and longest-serving faculty members addressing our student programs.

SPRING 2015

Need to Know Inside: Professors You Walter Williams An Interview with Dr.

Also in This Issue: 4 Virginia Tech YAF Achieves Free Speech Victory 5 Supreme Court Attorney Paul Clement Reflects on the Roberts Court 6 Allen, Williams, Marlow, and Hartwick Headline Road to Freedom Seminar 7 Spanish President Aznar Addresses Supporters in Rome 8 Al and Bette Moore Recognized at Special Moore Ranch Dedication

Libertas, the Latin word for liberty, is a publication of Young America’s Foundation which highlights the programs, events, students, staff, and supporters of the Foundation. You may contact Libertas and Young America’s Foundation by writing to: Young America’s Foundation, National Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191; calling 800-USA-1776; or visiting yaf.org. Editor: Jessica Jensen; Publisher: Ron Robinson; Publication Design: Jonathan Briggs; Assistant Editors: Amy Brooker, Caroline Corazza, Patrick Coyle, Travis Creel, Nicole Hoplin, Simran Hughes, Raj Kannappan, Amy Lutz, Chris Miranda, Colin Monaghan, Summer Ratcliff, Ashley Weaver; Washington, D.C. event photographer: Meghan Espinoza; California event photographer: Jacqueline Pilar. This document and all herein contents, images, stories, graphics, and design, fall unto copyright © 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Young America’s Foundation, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Any use of Libertas’ content without the written permission of Young America’s Foundation is prohibited.

Young America’s Foundation Board Of Directors Ron Robinson President of the Board Ronald Pearson Vice President of the Board Frank Donatelli Secretary and Treasurer of the Board T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Wynton C. Hall Peter Schweizer James B. Taylor Thomas L. Phillips Director Emeritus Reagan Ranch Board Of Governors Frank Donatelli Chairman Edwin Meese Co-Chairman Robert F. Agostinelli Governor George Allen Reagan Ranch Presidential Scholar John Barletta Dr. Suzanne Becker Lisa M. Buestrin Robert Cummins George & Becky Norton Dunlop Robert Giuffra, Jr. Timothy S. Goeglein Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold Eric & Nicole Hoplin Marty Irving Harold Knapheide Mark Larson Rebekah Mercer Al Moore Doug & Pat Perry Thomas L. Phillips Rear Admiral JJ Quinn Fred & Ruth Sacher Richard & Jane Schwartz Lee Shannon Craig Shirley Owen & Bernadette Casey Smith Barbara S. Waddell Jay Webber National Journalism Center Board Of Governors T. Kenneth Cribb Jr. Chairman Kellyanne Conway Terry Eastland Rich Lowry Alex Marlow The Honorable Alex Mooney Katie Pavlich Ronald Pearson Matt Robinson Tom Winter Thomas L. Phillips Chairman Emeritus

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Virginia Tech Young Americans for Freedom Achieves Free Speech Victory The Young AmericAns for freedom chApTer AT VirginiA Tech, chaired by Lauren McCue, won a major victory for free speech. Following a standing-room-only lecture by author and 37th Treasurer of the United States Bay Buchanan, the head of the student budget board and three Lauren McCue, Young Americans for Freedom chapter chair at Virginia Tech, administrators called McCue in for a meeting. They appears on Fox & Friends to discuss her school’s efforts to cut her group’s funding informed her that funding for her chapter had been cut and suppress their free speech rights. for the next two semesters. Some liberals on campus objected to the topic of Buchanan’s speech, co-sponsored by the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, which focused on illegal immigration and leadership. Despite more than 300 attendees, a few people complained to the student budget board about Buchanan’s speech. The student budget board said, because Buchanan also talked about immigration and not just leadership, the YAF chapter’s funding would be cut. Thankfully, McCue didn’t allow her free speech rights to be squelched. She worked with Young America’s Foundation to expose her school’s actions. The Foundation garnered nationwide attention for the bias McCue combatted on Breitbart.com, Fox News, and Drudge Report, among many other outlets. The exposure quickly resulted in a public statement from Virginia Tech administrators, who admitted that Buchanan did address leadership during her speech. McCue was soon notified that her club would receive the funding she had initially requested. “I am glad that I took a stand against the clearly ideological discrimination occurring against conservatives on my campus,” noted McCue. “As we move forward, Young Americans for Freedom at Virginia Tech will continue to promote true intellectual diversity and conservative principles.”

Activist and author Bay Buchanan speaks to a standing-room-only audience at Virginia Tech during a lecture sponsored by Young America’s Foundation and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

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Supreme Court Attorney Paul Clement Reflects on the Roberts Court pAul clemenT, who is widelY regArded As The Top supreme courT lAwYer in The counTrY, spoke at the Reagan Ranch Center at the Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable in December. Special guests included several estate planning attorneys, whose clients support Young America’s Foundation, as well as a group of Alliance Defending Freedom Allied Attorneys. Clement served as the 43rd solicitor general of the United States from June 2005 until June 2008. He has argued 75 cases before the United States Supreme Court, including 21 times in just the last three terms, an unprecedented number for a lawyer in private practice. Clement shared his reflections on the first decade of the Roberts Court. “Probably the single most consequential appointment to the Supreme Court recently, was not the Chief Justiceship, not Justice Young America’s Foundation’s vice president and general counsel, Kimberly Begg, hosts Paul Clement at Rancho del Cielo. Kagan, not Justice Sotomayor, but it was really Justice Alito taking the place of Justice O’Connor, because Justice Alito is a considerably more conservative justice than Justice O’Connor,” he said. “What that has done is really moved the decisional center of the court from Justice O’Connor to Justice Kennedy.” Kimberly Martin Begg, Esq., vice president and general counsel, also delivered remarks encouraging attendees to partner with experienced attorneys, as well as Young America’s Foundation, to protect their intent through their estate plans. Clement, who interned in the Reagan White House, said he was inspired as a young person by President Reagan’s principled leadership. He visited the Reagan Ranch the day before the event and described his experience walking in President Reagan’s footsteps as a “great privilege.”

Paul Clement, 43rd solicitor general of the United States, headlines the final Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable of 2014. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

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Allen, Williams, Marlow, and Hartwick Inspire Students at Road to Freedom Seminar in eArlY 2015, sTudenTs from 15 colleges And Ten sTATes TrAVeled to Young America’s Foundation’s national headquarters in Reston, Virginia, to attend the Foundation’s Road to Freedom seminar. The program, hosted by Young America’s Foundation’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise, is an in-depth seminar focused on teaching the principles of free enterprise. Attendees During his speech in Dale Phelon Hall, Governor George Allen spent three days learning about “A New Generation of Free Market underscores how the free enterprise system creates more opportunity Champions and How Government Inhibits Entrepreneurs.” The for everyone. seminar kicked off with dinner at our national headquarters and a session with economist Dr. Walter Williams on “Markets, Governments, and the Common Good.” The next morning, students heard from Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of Economics 21 and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, who discussed how the government is blocking job creation for millennials. Later, the group learned about the trials of a young entrepreneur, Sarah Hartwick, the founder of SURFSET fitness who met widespread success on the television show Shark Tank. The participants also heard from George Allen, 67th governor of Virginia and Young America’s Foundation’s Reagan Ranch Presidential Scholar, and Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief at Breitbart, Foundation alumnus, and a member of the National Journalism Center’s Board of Governors. The group traveled to Capitol Hill for a dinner featuring the Heritage Foundation’s chief economist, Stephen Moore, who stressed that “free markets allow for our greatest asset—human capital, or the human mind—to innovate, thus leading to prosperity for everyone in our society.” On the final morning of the program, the students heard from Lawrence Reed, president of the Foundation for Economic Education. Young America’s Foundation Vice President Patrick Coyle left students with a call to action with his speech, “How the Ronald Reagan Model of Activism Can Change Your Campus.” As the seminar concluded, the participants left eager to promote the lessons learned to their peers and others in their campus communities. “This seminar was by far the greatest seminar I have attended the past four years of college. I have learned so much the past few days!” noted Logan Nevonen from Saint Mary’s College.

Students (from left) Daniel Sifredo, Lauren McCue, Janay Eyo, Ryan Bullard, and Joshua Woodward enjoy the three-day Road to Freedom seminar where they learned from successful entrepreneurs, public policy officials, leading economists, and others.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

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Spanish President, José María Aznar, Addresses Supporters in Rome BecAuse of The generosiTY of reAgAn rAnch BoArd of goVernors memBer roBerT AgosTinelli, more than 90 attendees enjoyed a special gathering in Rome, Italy, for dinner and a presentation by Spanish President José María Aznar. The dinner was an exciting conclusion to the Foundation’s annual supporter cruise, which included stops from Venice to Rome. Aznar is the seventh head of state to address a Young America’s Foundation audience, joining an illustrious list that includes Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President Ronald Reagan, President George W. Bush, President Lech Walesa, Prime Minister Mart Laar, and President Vytautas Landsbergis. In his thoughtful reflections on Ronald Reagan and his fight for freedom, Aznar commented, “It is a paradox that, on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we are entering a new Cold War with Russia. America has lost time and leadership in the world. It has lost its vital position and ability. America is leading from behind.” He went on to give the group some hope: “I am still an optimist. I believe we can work together. We need to repair the path to prosperity through economic reform.” Young America’s Foundation is grateful to Robert Agostinelli for coordinating this important speech. We also thank him for hosting our group at the renowned Hassler Hotel Roma for this exclusive and memorable dinner.

Spanish President José María Aznar (left) addresses Young America’s Foundation friends and supporters during a special dinner in Rome, Italy, organized by Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Robert Agostinelli (right).

Foundation supporters and cruise participants Sue Kristo (left) and Lee Markquart (right) meet with President José María Aznar during the dinner featuring the former Spanish President.

Young America’s Foundation supporters enjoy the annual cruise, which concluded in Rome, Italy. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

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Al & Bette Moore Recognized at Special Moore Ranch Dedication during Young AmericA’s foundATion’s “A Time for choosing: The nexT generATion” conference (see page nine),

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Al Moore cuts the ribbon at the gate to Moore Ranch, which Al sponsored with his late wife, Bette.

friends and family of Al Moore, supporters of Young America’s Foundation, and the student activists in attendance gathered to dedicate an important new property and honor the leadership of Al and his late wife, Bette. Since 1998, Young America’s Foundation has worked with patriots from across the country to preserve President Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo. Preserving an important Presidential property has a unique set of challenges. In 2013, a neighboring property—a 92.2 acre parcel adjacent to Rancho del Cielo—came up for sale. This property borders Pennsylvania Avenue, the main access road leading to the Reagan Ranch. If this property were to fall into unfriendly hands, a neighbor could significantly—and negatively—affect how Young America’s Foundation uses Rancho del Cielo. Other Presidential properties have faced similar preservation concerns. At Mt. Vernon, many partners, associations, committees, and even a national park were established to protect the viewshed of George Washington’s home. When this issue emerged at the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors’ meeting in April 2013, Al and Bette Moore immediately saw the solution: the Foundation should buy the parcel to ensure that the viewshed of Rancho del Cielo would The purchase of the Moore Ranch, adjacent to remain intact—as the President enjoyed it—for years to come. the Reagan Ranch, increases the Foundation’s Al and Bette stepped forward, as they had done several times before, and gave ability to protect and preserve Rancho del Cielo for a sacrificial gift which allowed the Foundation to save the property—now known generations to come. as the Moore Ranch. To recognize this important gift, President Ron Robinson and Chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Frank Donatelli offered remarks during the dedication. Al Moore also addressed the students and supporters, underscoring why he and Bette made this special gift. A newly-created entryway, with a gate mirroring the one installed by Ronald Reagan at his own ranch, and a memorial plaque were unveiled during the ceremony. Young America’s Foundation is grateful to Al and Bette Moore for their vision to preserve the viewshed at Rancho del Cielo through the protection of the Moore Ranch. Their generous leadership provides future generations with the opportunity to enjoy the views and vistas of Foundation leaders as well as Al Moore’s family members help unveil a special plaque at the Rancho del Cielo as the President did and be entrance to Moore Ranch. (From left: Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli, Al Moore, Dennis Moore, Nancy Moore, Foundation President Ron Robinson, and inspired by Ronald Reagan’s “Open Cathedral.” Foundation Vice President and Director of the Reagan Ranch Andrew Coffin)

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

“A Time for Choosing: The Next Generation” Barone, Rosen, Keene, Earhardt, and Obenshain Headline 50th Anniversary Celebration By Katie Taran, Director of Conferences

Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt, talk radio host Lars Larson, and Fox News’s Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen participate in a panel, “What Ronald Reagan Taught Us About Communication,” during Young America’s Foundation’s “A Time for Choosing: The Next Generation” conference at the Reagan Ranch Center.

ore than 200 students, supporters, alumni,

importance of preserving freedom for the next generation.

and friends gathered in Santa Barbara,

The conference was a critical piece of the Foundation’s “A

California, for Young America’s Foundation’s

Time for Choosing: The Next Generation” initiative, an

“A Time for Choosing: The Next Generation” conference. The celebratory weekend, made possible by an

effort which includes doubling the Foundation’s student programs over the course of two years.

anonymous sponsor, commemorated the 50 anniversary

The weekend included talks by a range of Reagan

of Ronald Reagan’s historic speech, which underscored the

administration officials, as well as historians and media

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Students and supporters gather in the David Louis Bartlett Outreach Center at the Reagan Ranch Center for the special program featuring historians, media personalities, authors, Young America’s Foundation leaders, and others.

Closing dinner speaker and Foundation alumna Kate Obenshain meets with Foundation supporter Susie Screbant.

Young leaders attending the conference enjoy a rooftop reception at the Reagan Ranch Center.

personalities. Speakers included recent president of the

the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Frank Donatelli,

National Rifle Association and Washington Times Opinion

managing editor for the Daily Caller Chris Bedford,

Editor David Keene, talk radio show host Lars Larson,

author and Washington Examiner Senior Political Analyst

Fox News Channel host Ainsley Earhardt, Fox News

Michael Barone, and author and commentator Kate

Chief Washington Correspondent James Rosen, historian

Obenshain.

and author Dr. Lee Edwards, author and Reagan Ranch

The weekend included a tour of President Reagan’s

Board of Governors member Craig Shirley, chairman of

home, Rancho del Cielo, where the students gained

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Young America’s Foundation’s Reagan Ranch Center bustles with activity and events during the 50th anniversary celebration of Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech.

(From left) James Jenkins and Thomas McGuire from The Citadel enjoy a dinner banquet at the Reagan Ranch Center.

Michael Barone, author and Washington Examiner senior analyst, speaks to Young America’s Foundation’s supporters and students on the significance of Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech.

first-hand insight into the values that shaped Ronald

significantly to the preservation of the Reagan Ranch and

Reagan. The tour also included a special ribbon-cutting

the build-out of the Reagan Ranch Center.

ceremony for the dedication of the Moore Ranch, which

The conference concluded with a dinner banquet

was sponsored by Reagan Ranch Board of Governors

featuring Kate Obenshain, who inspired students to take

member Al Moore and his late wife, Bette (see page eight).

action on their campuses—not only to challenge liberal

All attendees were grateful for the opportunity to meet

orthodoxy but also to champion conservative principles.

and thank Mr. Moore, whose support has contributed

Obenshain said, “We’ve got to not just preserve the Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Students from around the country enjoy a day at Rancho del Cielo during the weekend program.

Rebecca McLaughlin from the University of Central Florida attends the Foundation program in Santa Barbara.

Students tour the Reagan Ranch and see the restored Humvee which was used by the Secret Service as they protected President Reagan at Rancho del Cielo.

liberty that we’ve been left with, after we’ve given so

influenced the Conservative Movement and why his

much of it away, but we have got to now stand firm and

message remains relevant today.

fight to expand that liberty, so that you and our children

Dennis Biren, a student attendee from Indiana

and our grandchildren can enjoy the blessings of liberty

University, summed up his conference experience:

that do not come as a dispensation from government.”

“This conference has given me hope—hope for the

By the end of the conference, the students had gained a wealth of knowledge on how Ronald Reagan 12

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Conservative Movement, hope for freedom, and most of all, hope for my own generation.”

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Professors You Need to Know

Dr. Williams delivers an enlightening speech to high school students attending the Foundation’s 2010 conference at Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

An Interview with Dr. Walter E. Williams By Jiesi Zhao, esq., Director, Young America’s foundation’s Center for entrepreneurship & free enterprise Libertas: You have championed free market ideas for decades and in many ways, including your work as a writer, on radio—even filling in for rush Limbaugh for more than 20 years—speaking to students at Young America’s foundation conferences, and of course as a professor of economics at George Mason University. Which do you enjoy the most? And why? —————————————————————————————————————————

WW: I like everything that I do, and I enjoy teaching. As I say on my appearances on the Rush Limbaugh show, I enjoy pushing back the frontiers of ignorance. And

Today’s young people are rarely introduced to conservative ideas in their classrooms and on their campuses. Most go their entire academic careers without meeting or hearing from a conservative professor. While the outlook seems grim on most campuses, there is a glimmer of hope among the faculty at several schools. Over the next few issues of Libertas, Young America’s foundation will highlight some of the country’s top conservative professors. These are individuals directly reaching today’s young people with the importance of free enterprise, individual freedom, and limited government. Their teachings extend beyond their classrooms: through their own writings, their involvement with Young America’s foundation, media appearances, and nationwide lectures. They are steadfast in their beliefs and dedicated to ensuring today’s young people receive the education they deserve. This issue features Dr. Walter e. Williams, the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of economics at George Mason University in fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Williams regularly addresses Young America’s foundation’s high school and college programs, where he consistently receives some of the highest speaker ratings from our student audiences. In addition to his nationally syndicated weekly newspaper column, Dr. Williams is the author of more than 150 publications and has appeared on scores of television and radio programs. He is also an occasional substitute host for the Rush Limbaugh Show. We are honored to feature Dr. Williams, an unwavering defender of the free enterprise system and one of Young America’s foundation’s longest-serving and most popular faculty members.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

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in my non-academic work, I like to try to use opportunities to sell my fellow Americans on the moral superiority of liberty and its main ingredient: limited government. I’ve lived a very, very fortunate life because I look forward to what I do. Libertas: Who were your biggest influences in economic policy ideas and why? ————————————————————————————————

WW: There’s one by Hayek, the speech he gave when he received the Nobel Prize, called “The Pretense of Knowledge,” where he talks about the foolhardiness of economic planning. Also Friedman’s Capitalism & Freedom, along with his Free to Choose series, which is available to everyone online. One thing that is very important is for people to think analytically. If they learn to think with their brains, they will surely support the ideas of liberty. They just have to learn how to think.

WW: Some of my influences started when I was a graduate student at UCLA, back in 1965. I ran into some very tenacious Libertas: You teach undergraduate and graduate professors who didn’t let me get away with nonsense. For economics courses at George Mason University. Which example, I was talking to one professor—Armen Alchian—a topics do you find your students are most passionate about renowned and very distinguished professor of economics at and interested in discussing? UCLA. I was telling him at the time that I think I support the ———————————————————————————————— minimum wage, and he asked me, “What do you care about WW: I teach micro-economic the most: the intention behind policy theory, and in my classroom or the effects of policy?” I never talk about the kind of He said, if I care about the effects, things that I talk about in my I should read such and such; and syndicated column or on radio. so I read about the unemployment In my classroom, I never effects, including articles which talk about these things because described the job loss that comes they are my preferences with rises in the minimum wage. and values, and I think it I ran into people who forced me is academic dishonesty for to question things. professors to teach students Also, I attended lectures by their values. Hayek and Friedman when they I would never teach my visited UCLA. preferences. I just teach them I read a number of books and basic economic theory. made associations with people And I want people to share such as Leonard Read, the founder my point-of-view, but I think if I of the Foundation for Economic teach my students how to think Education. rigorously, they will come to Also, as I say in the film (airing share my views on their own. on PBS), Suffer No Fools, adapted Too many professors use from my autobiography, Up From their classrooms to proselytize to the Projects, I tell people (and A regular and popular member of the Foundation’s conference their students. maybe it’s not nice for me to say it faculty, Dr. Williams inspires students attending the 1999 National Conservative Student Conference. this way) that I’m glad I got most Libertas: Which economic of my education before it became issues do you think are most pertinent for today’s students fashionable for white people to like black people. to engage in? How should students address these issues on What I mean by that is when I got a “C,” it was an honesttheir campuses? to-God “C.” When I earned an “A,” it was an honest-to-God “A.” ———————————————————————————————— Teachers weren’t feeling sorry for me because of discrimination WW: In general, students should be against the or slavery, and they didn’t give a damn about my self-esteem. indoctrination of them by their professors. It’s very Libertas: related to the last question, which basic widespread on college campuses. Students come to college economic lesson from these great writers would you suggest to learn how to think, not what to think. It’s important for as a primer to students who want to learn some of the key students to realize this is a huge problem. That’s the major principles of free enterprise? thing, but students have little power to do anything about our ———————————————————————————————— country’s problems.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

S P e C I A L S e R I e S : P R O F e S S O R S Y O u N e e D T O K N O W – D r . W A LT e r e . W I L L I A M S

Dr. Walter Williams addresses hundreds of students attending Young America’s Foundation’s 2008 National Conservative Student Conference in Washington, D.C.

There are major problems we are facing as a nation: the decline of our nation, the decline of our moral values, and the decline of our influence around the world. Our enemies don’t respect us, and our friends don’t trust us. I think students need to worry about them, but there is not much they can do about it.

give the government money. To give a dollar to an American, government must first take it from another American. I believe that charity is one of the noblest instincts of human beings. To help your fellow man by reaching into your own pocket is laudable and praiseworthy. To help your fellow man by reaching into someone else’s pocket is worthy of condemnation. It’s despicable. Yes, we should help our fellow man in need, but to do it through the government is what I call “legalized theft.” Suppose I see an elderly lady in downtown Washington, D.C., in the dead of winter, and she’s hungry, in need of medical attention, and in need of shelter.

“To give a dollar to an American, government must first take it from another American.”

Libertas: Students across the country are excited about ideas like entrepreneurship and freedom. In your opinion, what is the best way to convey to students the importance of free enterprise as integral to the success of entrepreneurs?

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WW: People have to recognize that the government has no resources of its own. There’s no Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy to

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

S P e C I A L S e R I e S : P R O F e S S O R S Y O u N e e D T O K N O W – D r . W A LT e r e . W I L L I A M S

Suppose I walked up to Ron Robinson with a gun, got $200 from him, and went to the elderly lady with the $200 to get her some medical attention and food. Would you find me guilty of a crime? Suppose two people agreed to do that, is it still a crime? Suppose 200 million people agreed. It would still be a crime! When God gave Moses the Commandment “thou shall not steal,” he didn’t mean “thou shall not steal unless there’s a majority vote in Congress.” Libertas: Has President Obama’s radical implementation of socialism on the American people created an opening for people to become more receptive to free enterprise? In other words, has he awoken the American people who have become skeptical of government intrusions and, hence, more receptive to free market ideas?

Dr. Williams meets with National Conservative Student Conference attendee Emily Reilly at the 2012 program in our nation’s capital.

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WW: We have to sell the American people on the moral superiority of the free market. The problem isn’t so much with our leaders but with the American people. James Madison said, “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” Two-thirds of today’s federal budget is for the purpose of “benevolence.” Madison also said, “Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” A leader today, making a similar statement would be run out of office. Today’s Americans believe government should forcibly use one American to serve the purposes of another.

WW: I enjoy the summer lectures I give at Young America’s Foundation’s National Conservative Student Conference, and I enjoy mingling with the students to answer their questions after the lectures. That’s always a lot of fun. I like being around young people. It helps to keep me young, and I like the challenge of arguing and debating my ideas.

Libertas: You have worked with YAf as a speaker for our programs for many years. What do you enjoy most about participating in our programs?

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Libertas: YAf launched the Center for entrepreneurship & free enterprise in 2013 and is poised to target more students from across the country this year with seminars and programs championing free market ideas. What do you believe are the best ways for us to effectively communicate these ideas to students? ————————————————————————————————

WW: I can’t give you any suggestions; you guys are the experts on that.

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“Advancing Constitutional Conservatism” Remarks at the Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable By Senator Orrin G. Hatch Introduction and Overview

“We the People” and not the other way around. He returned to this theme in his farewell address, in words onald Reagan was a worth quoting here: “Almost great hero of mine. all the world’s constitutions His influence looms are documents in which large over both our governments tell the people nation and my own personal what their privileges are. Our political life. In 1976, I was Constitution is a document in locked in a tight primary race which ‘We the People’ tell the in my first Senate campaign. government what it is allowed The polls were close, and to do. ‘We the People’ are free.” it was anyone’s race. A few My goal today is to explain days before the primary, how a conservatism rooted in Governor Reagan endorsed the Constitution’s enduring me. I’m told it was his only principles—what some call pre-primary endorsement constitutional conservatism— ever. I’ve always been grateful provides a framework for for his support in that race. practical solutions to many of In my Senate office, we have our most pressing challenges. a Reagan conference room, I believe such an approach which displays the telegram Senator Orrin Hatch speaks to students and supporters at Young America’s can serve as a foundation for Foundation’s Reagan Ranch Roundtable luncheon at the Reagan Ranch Center. formalizing his endorsement, as successful governance in the well as memorabilia from several next Congress and beyond, just as it did under President Reagan. of my bills that he signed into law as President. We’re at a critical point right now. The flaws in President President Reagan made tremendous contributions to Obama’s agenda are increasingly clear. The economy remains American conservatism. He implemented a conservative sluggish nearly six years into his Presidency. Millions of agenda that led to a renewal of American greatness, helped Americans are still unemployed or underemployed; millions create millions of new jobs, and defeated an evil empire. He more have given up looking for work altogether. The President’s showed that conservatism is a winning philosophy. signature achievement, Obamacare, has caused premiums to President Reagan also recognized the signal importance spike and kicked millions of Americans off their health plans. of the U.S. Constitution. Time and again he returned to the Our national debt continues to grow. At home and abroad, our Constitution as the basis of our government and the source nation appears adrift. Equally important, it feels adrift. of our guiding principles. He referred to the Constitution Now is the time for conservatives to tell America how we constantly in advancing his conservative agenda—an average will right the ship, how we will solve the problems President of 16 times in each State of the Union speech. In his First Obama has wrought. We have an opportunity to present a Inaugural address, he made the Constitution’s opening words positive, conservative, reform-oriented agenda. a key focus, emphasizing that government’s role is to serve

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“AdvAncing constitutionAl conservAtism” –––––––––––––––—————————–––––––––––––––– By Senator Orrin G. Hatch –––––––––––––––—————————––––––––––––––––

The Current Challenge

Even in the face of such opportunity, this is a time of significant challenge for conservatives. Conservative activists and public policy officials, the narrative goes, are angered at the President’s overreach and opposed to his agenda, but have offered few constructive policy proposals of their own. A related narrative suggests that there is an ongoing conservative civil war, a political fight, not only between the Tea Party and the establishment, but also between competing ideologies. Between libertarians and social conservatives, populists and elites, hawks and isolationists. Even among those on the right who are seeking to identify an affirmative policy agenda, there is a sense that our cause lacks a unified governing philosophy. Our challenge as conservatives, then, is to develop a positive, reform-minded agenda that will both unify our movement and present a compelling vision to Americans searching for a way out of our current problems. This is not a new challenge. Because conservatism includes a diverse set of ideological commitments, our successes over the last 50 years have all included a similar effort. Beginning in the 1960s, Frank Meyer, who for many years was an editor of National Review, undertook to unite the two often-disparate wings of conservatism—traditionalist and libertarian—by showing how each needs the other. Ronald Reagan was among the most ardent advocates of this view, known as fusionism. In a 1981 address to CPAC, President Reagan lauded Meyer’s effort to “fashion a vigorous new synthesis of traditional and libertarian thought—a synthesis that is today recognized by many as modern conservatism.” The effort to reconcile liberty and tradition was manifest in many of President Reagan’s programs and much of his rhetoric. He taught that it is not the state, but rather families, churches, neighborhoods, and communities that foster the virtues liberty needs to survive. For President Reagan, liberty and tradition were not competitors, but complements. Each needed the other to thrive. This remains true today. Our current challenge, however, is not merely to unify. We must also present a compelling vision. It is not enough simply to offer a set of policy proposals. We must root our agenda in principles, and explain to the American people why those principles—and the policies that flow from them—offer the best way forward.

Constitutional Conservatism

The fundamental insight of conservatism lies in the root of the word: conserve. To be a conservative means to appreciate that our established institutions and inherited traditions reflect

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the accumulated wisdom of those who have come before. American conservatism thus contains an important protective element. It involves a commitment to conserve the principles and institutions that have made our nation so great and so free. As conservatives, we recognize that the Constitution gave us a precious gift—a system of government that is both active and restrained. That has the necessary authority to meet challenges, but contains within its interior structure checks on that same authority. That gives families and communities space to thrive, but is attuned to the imperfections of human nature. Our commitment to the Constitution leads us to resist programs or ideologies that would cast aside our constitutional principles in favor of novel theories or untested designs. In the 1950s, conservative heroes like Russell Kirk and Whittaker Chambers urged Americans to stand strong against communism and other collectivist impulses, and to conserve our liberties by restoring traditional faith and morality. More libertarian-minded thinkers, such as Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, argued passionately against the New Deal as a misguided reordering of the state and federal spheres, as well as an unconstitutional expansion of federal power. They urged a return to more limited government, and argued that reducing federal intrusion into the economy would free up space for individual liberty and innovation to flourish. Subsequent decades brought new challenges. In the 1970s, we faced out-of-control inflation, punitive tax rates, and a Soviet menace. It took a committed conservative like Ronald Reagan to show America that we could return to greatness by returning to our founding principles of limited government, individual freedom, and strong defense. Today we face different threats and fresh attempts to depart from our constitutional principles. An enormous expansion of the administrative state is now invading core individual liberties. Already the federal government has assumed authority to force Americans to purchase products they do not want; now it presumes to tell them they must violate deeply held religious beliefs. It continues to issue regulations that stifle our economy, impede innovation, and diminish individual freedom. As conservatives, we must continue to fight all of these attempts to expand government at the expense of our constitutional ideals. But we must not be defined only by what we are against. We must offer an alternative, affirmative agenda. As we develop this agenda, we must take care always to keep the Constitution as our guide. By so doing, we remain true to the title conservative; we conserve our founding principles and apply those principles to today’s challenges.

Senator Hatch underscores the importance of today’s leaders fighting against the expansion of government at the “expense of our constitutional ideals.”

Restoring Political Constitutionalism

Looking to the Constitution as our guide must be an active process and one that each of us has an independent obligation to undertake. In particular, we cannot simply rely on courts to do the job for us. There is an unfortunate tendency these days to think of the Constitution as the judiciary’s domain, to leave it entirely up to judges to decide whether a law is constitutional. This tendency to leave things to the courts diminishes the other branches’ roles in the constitutional system and misses the many lessons the Constitution has to teach. The judiciary’s role in assessing constitutionality is a narrow one. Judges ask primarily whether a law satisfies some legal rule announced in a previous case. Is the regulated activity commerce? Is the punishment for noncompliance a tax or a penalty? But fidelity to the Constitution is about much more than narrow legal reasoning. Honoring the Constitution involves looking to the principles that undergird it—values like individual liberty, respect for civil society, and democratic accountability—in determining whether a given course of action is wise. Obamacare provides a ready example. I have said many times that Obamacare is unconstitutional. Notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s contortions, the individual mandate exceeds Congress’s powers under the Constitution. It is not a

regulation of interstate commerce, and it is not a tax. But those are not the only reasons the law is unconstitutional. In addition to flunking formal legal tests, it violates many of the enduring principles made manifest in the Constitution. It invades liberty by compelling individuals to purchase insurance against their will. It undermines federalism by coercing state governments to expand Medicaid. It dilutes the separation of powers by transferring vast legislative authority to the Executive. And so on. Whether or not a law meets whatever legal tests the Supreme Court has set forth does not end the inquiry for those of us who seek the Constitution as our guide. Instead, we must practice what James Ceaser and others call political constitutionalism: the notion that it “falls mostly to political actors making political decisions to protect and promote constitutional goals.”1

Constitutional Conservatism in Practice

The Constitution has many lessons to teach about good lawmaking. First, through its various checks and balances, it teaches that unrestrained government is a threat to liberty, and that in order to protect citizens from government’s constant 1 James W. Ceaser, Restoring the Constitution, Claremont Rev. Books, Spring 2012, at 32, 33. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

tendency to expand its sphere, government must be restrained from both without and within. Second, by providing that all powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states, the Constitution teaches that states and local communities should be equal partners with the federal government, and that most decisions affecting Americans’ lives should be made at the local level, not by some distant, national bureaucracy. Third, the Constitution teaches that good governance consists in deliberation and considered judgment. By dividing and separating powers among many locus points, the Constitution helps avert sudden lurches in policymaking, even as it enables more modest improvements supported by broad coalitions. It forces rival officeholders to work together and is designed to prevent any one person or interest from unilaterally making, changing, or eliminating laws. Perhaps most fundamentally, the Constitution teaches the virtue of prudence. Prudence is a habit of mind that should come naturally to conservatives. It restrains us from seeking immediate and complete vindication of a single, abstract principle. Rather, prudence counsels us to work within our existing circumstances to vindicate the enduring principles upon which liberty depends. Prudent lawmakers make experience, not theory, their guide, and recognize that success requires harmonizing competing values. The Constitution is an exercise in prudence. It contains within its structure a clash of many competing principles: the democratic, majoritarian House; the deliberative Senate; the unified and energetic Executive; the independent Judiciary. There is tension between individual rights and majority will, energy and stability, limited powers and flexibility to act. The Constitution mediates many rival goods. It is founded on compromise. And it institutionalizes prudence as a signal virtue of our Republic. As constitutional conservatives, we must remain true to our ideological principles. But we must also recognize that we operate in an imperfect world where we do not control all the levers of power. We cannot simply charge forward hell-bent, blind to present realities. To do so is the very antithesis of conservatism. It would also jeopardize our hopes for success, because adopting an all-or-nothing strategy usually produces only the latter result: nothing.

Those who demand immediate, wholesale change miss this important lesson. Our task as conservatives is to conserve, to retain what works, what is true to our constitutional structure, as we work to correct the excesses of recent decades.

Constitutional Conservatism and the Senate Agenda

So, what is it we seek to conserve? We seek to preserve cherished liberties that make us a free people and provide each individual with the autonomy to live a life of meaning and dignity. We seek to safeguard free markets and entrepreneurial opportunities that produce economic growth and enable all to share in greater material prosperity. And we seek to revitalize a civil society in which strong families, churches, and charities thrive; where neighbors look out for each other; where those with means help those in need; where individuals can reach their highest potential and communities flourish. But in order to conserve this vision of American society, we must advance affirmative reforms. Conservatives must offer a principled, forward-looking agenda that addresses today’s challenges in a manner that is consistent with enduring constitutional principles and that heeds the Constitution’s many lessons. For some programs, such as Obamacare, this means repealing the program root and branch and replacing it with one that is both more effective and more in line with limited government and a free society. For other programs that have become more embedded in the fabric of American society, advancing reforms consistent with the cause of constitutionalism will involve more incremental improvements. Advancing our conservative vision involves limiting and restraining federal overreach that crowds out voluntary institutions and individual initiatives. But it also requires an energetic government directed at promoting policies that enable individual opportunity and encourage civic engagement. To work towards a government of this sort, conservatives must set forth a detailed reform agenda. For now, I would like to outline five policy areas that I believe should be central to our efforts.

“Our current tax system undermines prosperity, discourages entrepreneurship, and gives vast authority to a largely unaccountable IRS.”

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1) Health Care Reform

First is health care reform—real health care reform. Obamacare offends core constitutional principles on multiple levels. It restricts liberty by forcing Americans to purchase

products they do not want. It offends federalism by invading a field Congress has no authority to enter. It undermines limited government by transferring massive power to federal policymakers. And it undermines democratic accountability by empowering unelected bureaucrats to micromanage virtually every aspect of health care. As a consequence, we are already seeing Obamacare displace private initiative. Jim Capretta notes, “Instead of taking the lead to solve problems and improve care, the major players in the health system—employers, states, providers, and insurers—are now waiting for the latest pronouncements from HHS about what is and is not acceptable under Obamacare.”2 This is the very type of situation our Constitution was designed to avoid. Instead of promoting innovation and communitybased solutions, the federal government is crowding out private actors. It is sapping vitality from our medical profession and quashing opportunities for growth. It’s also massively increasing our debt, threatening to limit the prosperity and freedom of future generations. Rather than simply returning to the conditions that predated Obamacare, we need health reform that facilitates access to care and protects the most vulnerable among us, but that also eschews bureaucratic mandates and profligate spending. We need a market-based solution that government monitors but does not direct. Earlier this year, Senators Richard Burr, Tom Coburn, and I offered such a solution. Our plan, the Patient CARE Act, employs market-oriented solutions to cut costs and includes patient-centered reforms to expand coverage. It empowers states to provide coverage and reduce costs; enhances purchasing power through targeted tax credits; strengthens consumers’ ability to choose their own health plans; increases transparency regarding plan costs, quality, and outcomes; and eliminates health-care-related distortions in the tax code. Our plan achieves many of the same goals as Obamacare— such as expanding coverage and protecting access to care for individuals with preexisting conditions—while ensuring that the federal role in health care remains limited, effective, and respectful of individual consumers. It allows providers to experiment with new types of coverage rather than mandating a one-size-fits-all formula. It keeps costs down by expanding the health care marketplace and empowering consumers to shop around. It incentivizes rather than forces healthy individuals to purchase insurance. And it gives states greater flexibility in how they use Medicaid funds, in keeping with the federal nature of our constitutional system. 2 James C. Capretta, “Health-Care Reform to Lower Costs and Improve Access and Quality,” in Room to Grow: Conservative Reforms for a Limited Government and a Thriving Middle Class 23, 25 (2014).

Obamacare represents a direct assault on many of our most cherished values: individual liberty, prosperity, limited government, and federalism. Our alternative avoids all of these problems and represents a real solution to critical health care challenges.

2) Tax Reform

A second area that demands our attention is tax reform. Our tax code is far too long and complicated for most Americans to comprehend. Its administration alone saps hundreds of billions of dollars each year that could instead be saved or invested. Our current tax system undermines prosperity, discourages entrepreneurship, and gives vast authority to a largely unaccountable IRS. We must stop treating the tax code as an instrument for social engineering. Such a strategy is flatly contrary to our constitutional values of liberty and limited government. Instead, we should make every effort to minimize the disruptive impact of our tax burden on growth and opportunity. Several basic principles should guide our efforts. First, reforms should encourage job creation and economic growth by making the tax code more internationally competitive, reducing distortions, eliminating overt obstacles to growth, and lowering both individual and corporate rates. Reforms should also promote simplicity and fairness. The income tax base has become excessively riddled with exemptions, exclusions, deductions, and credits. The amount a person pays in taxes should not depend on the creativity of his or her accountant. True reform must provide permanence and certainty. Temporary, expiring provisions have, over time, significantly inhibited efforts by individuals and businesses to plan responsibly for their future, and any serious solution should remedy this situation. Finally, tax reform should boost saving and investment. Many aspects of the current code discourage these wealthbuilding activities. This in turn hinders long-term growth and economic stability. A tax environment that encourages saving and investment will help ensure an improved standard of living for future generations. All of these commonsense principles can attract broad support. By streamlining and rationalizing our tax code, we can boost prosperity and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit that has made this nation great. Such reforms would also reign in recent IRS excesses and limit the power of unelected bureaucrats to interfere in our lives and pursuits. By pursuing these reforms, we can make our tax code the province of the people rather than the powerful, while checking government’s continued expansion. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Senator Hatch enjoys an afternoon at Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo—the Western White House—following his remarks at the Reagan Ranch Center.

3) Regulatory Reform

A third priority is regulatory reform. The federal bureaucracy continues to grow, further inserting itself into nearly every aspect of American life. The annual cost of regulatory compliance now approaches $2 trillion, to say nothing of the billions lost through foregone business opportunities. Under President Obama, the growth of the regulatory state has accelerated at an unprecedented rate. Approximately 80,000 pages of federal regulations are published each year. And there are now more than a million individual restrictions in the Code of Federal Regulations. Many federal rules disproportionately burden lowincome households, which must “contribute a larger share of their income to pay for cost increases resulting from these regulations.”3 Similar economies of scale disproportionately burden small businesses as they struggle to keep up with the reams of red tape rolling out of Washington. 3 Maj. Staff of H. Comm. on the Budget, 113th Cong., Expanding Opportunity in America: A Discussion Draft from the House Budget Committee 63 (2014).

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The scope and power of the modern regulatory state is plainly inconsistent with constitutional limits and the type of society those limits were designed to support. Regulation is now the primary means by which the federal government burdens our economy, encroaches on our liberties, and crowds out civil society—all without meaningful accountability to the people or their elected representatives. Government is not supposed to be a barrier to prosperity and growth, but an enabler. The current administrative state demands reform. But our efforts must be prudent—carefully calibrated to deliver relief without sacrificing essential health and safety protections. To begin with, we must ensure that all federal agencies follow existing statutes and executive orders, including the requirement to perform meaningful cost-benefit analysis to ensure that new rules do more good than harm. Similarly, we must not allow outdated, outmoded regulations simply to pile up. This principle—endorsed by every President since Jimmy Carter—has seen much lip service over

the years but little action. What we need now is an effective review mechanism to identify outdated regulations still on the books and provide for their revision or repeal. We must also ensure that courts are not used to manipulate the regulatory process. We can do this by limiting standing in citizen suits to those parties actually affected by the challenged regulation. This will help prevent special-interest groups from using litigation to accomplish what they cannot do through the ballot box. Finally, we should consider ways to increase judicial oversight of agency action in order to provide a more robust independent check on new regulation. These reforms offer meaningful ways to reduce unjustified, burdensome, outdated, and duplicative regulations. They will protect our economy, our liberty, and our right to democratically accountable government, while simultaneously ensuring legitimate standards for health and safety.

4) Innovation Agenda

A fourth area of focus should be implementing an innovation agenda. Innovation increasingly drives employment and economic growth across the nation and around the globe. In most communities, high-tech job growth is consistently faster than in other sectors. In fact, demand for high-tech jobs is expected to surpass demand for jobs generally through at least 2020. Our constitutional values teach that the federal government has an important role to play in helping to foster entrepreneurship and economic growth. But that role is not one of heavy-handed regulator. Rather, government’s proper role is to act as a facilitator, fostering an environment that encourages the research and development that will drive our prosperity and quality of life in the decades to come. Now is the time to combat abusive patent litigation and to create a harmonized, uniform system for protecting trade secrets. Bipartisan legislation in these areas is already written and should be a top priority in the next Congress. We should also consider ways to create a voluntary framework for combating online piracy and for protecting critical infrastructure through public-private information sharing. Equally important is equipping our workforce for the new economy. We can do this by investing in STEM training and by revamping our immigration laws to ease the entry process for high-skilled workers. Many countries, such as Canada, structure their immigration laws to favor such workers, and it is far past time we followed suit. Keeping the Internet open and competitive must also be a priority.

As a general matter, we must resist the urge to regulate what is working well according to market forces. Net neutrality is a terrible idea whose time has not, and never should, come. Keep the Internet free, and it will continue to drive our economy forward. Fostering innovation in these ways will strengthen our economy while keeping government in its proper constitutional role—as a helpful partner, not an all-present planner.

5) Mobility Agenda

A fifth priority should be developing and refining a mobility agenda. For 50 years we’ve been fighting a war on poverty. For 50 years we’ve spent trillions of dollars on massive federal welfare programs that have largely failed. The poverty rate has remained essentially unchanged since 1967, and increasing numbers of Americans worry—with some cause—that their children won’t have the same opportunities to get ahead that they did. This is a grave problem. Our constitutional system is predicated on the idea of a free and prosperous citizenry. When people remain mired in poverty generation after generation, they may lose faith in the value of hard work, and turn instead to government as the answer to all their problems. This in turn sets up a conflict between the desire for security and the ideal of limited government. Citizens who feel abandoned or left behind may—understandably—be more willing to sacrifice some of their rights and liberties if they believe doing so will save them from economic extremity. One of government’s legitimate obligations is to create conditions for broadly shared prosperity. For our constitutional system to thrive, we need citizens who believe both in the government and in themselves. Simply throwing more money at failed programs does not do this. Nor does it foster social cooperation. Quite the opposite. I believe government does have an obligation to help struggling citizens, to remove obstacles, and to create ladders of opportunity to success. What we need today is a concerted effort at serious reform. Bright young leaders such as Congressman Paul Ryan and Senator Marco Rubio have developed innovative proposals to expand opportunity and reinvent the safety net. These proposals highlight the need for adaptability and accountability in our income mobility efforts. Let me offer two additional thoughts on reforms that can help keep the American Dream alive throughout society. First, we must reform our antiquated labor laws to make hiring easier and to enable employees to change jobs more easily in the new economy. Individuals should have the Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

freedom to negotiate the terms of their work, and federal rules ought not punish law-abiding employers seeking to create winwin situations for families and productivity. And it is past time that we reformed our labor laws to ensure that the rights of workers—not labor unions—come first. Second, education—the gateway to opportunity in our society. The seeds of reform—from school choice to teacher accountability—are beginning to take hold in states and localities. We must make the Department of Education a facilitator of such reform, rather than an overlord. The federal role should be to assist state efforts through cooperative programs and increased flexibility, not top-down directives. The Department should serve primarily as a clearinghouse for education research and as a means to disseminate best practices to states. Experience shows that education decisions tailored to local needs are better for children than one-size-fits-all nationwide decrees. And rather than simply continuing to subsidize the ever-growing cost of higher education, we must incentivize institutions to reduce costs, which they can do by eliminating unnecessary administrative activities or implementing competency-based programs for students who already possess skills and experience in their chosen field.

6) Summary

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Constitutional Conservatism and Our Vision for America

I am confident that such policies can win broad support. But as we appeal to the American people, we must not confine ourselves to reciting a set of policy bullet points. We must also sketch out our vision for America and show how constitutional conservatism can lead us to a richer, more robust society. Today, as we see the federal leviathan reaching its jaws around many of our most cherished institutions, we need an invigorated conservatism that will return the federal government to its proper role in our constitutional structure. A federal government that stops trying to eliminate all the vicissitudes of life will allow more room for family, neighbors, and churches to care for each other. A federal government with narrower, politically accountable regulatory authority is far less likely to order individuals to violate their deeply held beliefs. It also has less capacity to issue mandates that inhibit innovation and economic growth. Such a government will not insinuate itself into all aspects of our lives in ways that enervate our civic institutions and undermine our ability as individuals to choose freely how to live. Constitutional conservatism is about much more than lowering taxes or eliminating waste, though reducing the size of government does both those things. It’s about returning government to its rightful role in our society. Government’s role is not to provide universal social and economic support, but rather to create opportunities and remove obstacles. A vigorous, dynamic constitutional conservatism will return government to its proper role—that of supporter, not director. As Ronald Reagan said in his First Inaugural, we must make government “work—work with us, not over us; . . . stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.”

“Today, as we see the federal leviathan reaching its jaws around many of our most cherished institutions, we need an invigorated conservatism that will return the federal government to its proper role in our constitutional structure.”

All of these proposals aim to improve our nation’s well-being while taking account of the Constitution’s lessons. They offer incremental reform rather than wholesale revision. They seek to preserve the proper role of the states rather than impose top-down, conform-or-else mandates. They recognize the threat of overbroad government power. And they take account of current political realities. Proposals and principles like these also offer opportunities to unite the various strands of conservatism by focusing on improving economic well-being and restraining government to its proper role. Every conservative can support efforts to get government out of health care and reduce related infringements on religious liberty. We can all get behind efforts to reduce taxes and streamline regulations to promote real growth and opportunity. And conservatives of all stripes can champion

efforts to foster innovation and move people from poverty to opportunity in ways that do not swell our already bloated federal bureaucracy.

H I G H

S C H O O L

C O N f e r e N C e

reverend rafael Cruz Inspires High School Students at the reagan ranch By Katie Taran, Director of Conferences

A T

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Reverend Rafael Cruz, father of Senator Ted Cruz, delivers a stirring address during the Reagan Ranch Roundtable luncheon held in conjunction with the High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

ore than 250 attendees gathered at the Reagan Ranch Center for the High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch. They included students from ten states and 45 schools who came to walk in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps at his beloved Rancho del Cielo and to learn more about conservative ideas. More than two-thirds of the students were attending their first Foundation program, and one-third were members of their schools’ Young Americans for Freedom chapters. The event, sponsored by the Richard & Barbara Gaby Foundation, began with a reception for students and their family members on the Center’s Mr. & Mrs. Alwal Anheuser Beims Moore Rooftop Terrace, immediately followed by an opening dinner banquet in the David Louis Bartlett Outreach Center. Reverend Rafael Cruz, Texas pastor and father of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, served as the keynote speaker and gave a rousing address on the American Dream. The evening concluded with a screening of Young America’s Foundation’s film, Still Point in a Turning World: Ronald Reagan and His Ranch. The next day, students participated in breakout sessions, working together to define the tenets of conservatism. Foundation President Ron Robinson also led a participatory discussion on the same topic. Fitness entrepreneur, founder, and director of marketing for SURFSET Fitness Sarah Hartwick concluded Friday morning’s sessions with a presentation on the

Reverend Cruz enjoys an afternoon at Rancho del Cielo following his speech at the Reagan Ranch Center.

Reverend Cruz meets with high school conference participants during the program at the Reagan Ranch Center. (Pictured from left: Daniel Rutenberg, Rev. Cruz, Sam Wolf, and Philip Yurchenko.) Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Joan Short and her sister, Thrin, share their experiences as pro-life activists who were assaulted by a University of California, Santa Barbara feminist studies professor.

importance of free enterprise and how big government policies hinder success. Ms. Hartwick’s presentation was given in conjunction with Young America’s Foundation’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise. Later that day, Reverend Cruz addressed the students a second time during the Wendy P. McCaw Reagan Ranch Roundtable luncheon. Reverend Cruz discussed his experiences living under a Communist dictator and touched on religious freedom in America today. He noted, “Communism must destroy the concept of God, and as we see the attack on religion in this country, we need to realize that the attack on religion is not the objective. That is the only means by which they will accomplish their objective, which is to make government your god.” The capacity audience included student attendees, parents, Foundation supporters, and community members—all of whom were inspired by his passionate address calling for righteous leaders. Students then headed to Rancho del Cielo, where they toured Ronald Reagan’s ranch house, front lawn, tack barn, and Secret Service Command Post. “It was an amazing experience,” remarked attendee Elizabeth Engelbrecht from Katy, (Continued on page 28)

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(From left) Candace Kim, Glenn Kim, and H.S. Gotschall participate in the opening dinner banquet at the Reagan Ranch Center.

High school conference participants enjoy a “bull session” where they discuss and debate a wide variety of current issues and topics.

Foundation President Ron Robinson hosts an interactive teaching session on the basic principles of conservatism.

High school students from around the country gather at the Reagan Ranch Center for the weekend program featuring leading conservative speakers and enlightening discussions.

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Program attendees enjoy time at the Reagan Ranch where they gain a deeper understanding of Ronald Reagan’s values and lasting accomplishments.

Speaker Derryck Green meets with student Christopher Fields following his remarks at the conference.

Sarah Hartwick, founder of SURFSET Fitness, visits the Reagan Ranch during her weekend as a speaker at the high school conference.

Students Coby Dollof, Alexander Shafer, and Tanner Campbell meet like-minded friends from around the country at the High School Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

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Texas. “I didn’t know too much about Ronald Reagan before touring the Ranch, but now he’s one of my role models.” That evening’s dinner banquet featured Bruce Rottman—humanities, government, and economics teacher at Providence Academy—who discussed the morality of the free market. Afterward, many students chose to practice their debate and public speaking skills by taking part in an optional “bull session,” led by Dr. Jake Jacobs, author, YAF alumnus, professor, and founder of The Politically Incorrect Institute. The final day of the conference began with remarks from Dr. Jacobs and Jiesi Zhao, director of the Foundation’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise. Dr. Jacobs spoke on the life and principles of Ronald Reagan, and Zhao addressed the importance of our free enterprise system. The morning also featured an interview with pro-life activists Joan and Thrin Short. The Short sisters became public figures last spring when Thrin was accosted by a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara while peacefully protesting abortion. The sisters offered the high school students encouragement and advice on how to stand up for the rights of the unborn. Derryck Green, writer and commentator from Project 21 National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives, later spoke on conservatism in the black community and how it is not racist to criticize Obama’s failed policies. Foundation Vice President Patrick Coyle drew the conference to a close with a presentation on how students could use the Reagan Model of Activism to advance freedom at their schools. As the conference concluded, the students left inspired to share their values and ideas with their peers. They also gained a new network of friends from around the country. Tristan Justice of Westerville, Ohio, noted, “My time spent here has been truly enlightening. Not only did I learn so much about Ronald Reagan (a true American hero), but I learned more about the Conservative Movement and how I can make more of an impact at my school.”

• Ronald Reagan Meet

cho d

• an experience you’ll never forget

at His Ranch

C ie l o

You are cordially invited to an exclusive

weekend getaway at Ronald Reagan’s mountaintop home, Rancho del Cielo, in Santa Barbara, California. You will be joined by an intimate group of six other couples from around the country for a weekend experience hosted by Young America’s Foundation President Ron Robinson and his wife, Michelle Easton.

2015 retreat dates

September 18 to 20 October 16 to 18

When you arrive in Santa Barbara,your every need

will be met based on an all-inclusive price, including:

• Complimentary transportation to the Biltmore Four Seasons Resort (from Santa Barbara airport) • Reagan Ranch Roundtable luncheon featuring a notable conservative leader • Two-night, five-star accommodations at the historic, oceanfront Biltmore Four Seasons Resort • VIP visit experience at Ronald Reagan’s “Western White House,” Rancho del Cielo • Behind-the-scenes tour of the Reagan Ranch Center and Exhibit Gallery • All meals including two luncheons, two receptions, two dinners, and a full breakfast • Trolley tour of historic downtown Santa Barbara, including the 19th Century Santa Barbara Mission

A-  : $2,475   (excluding airline travel) S  L Sx     Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. reserve your space today. Please call Jason Barbour

at (336)286-1701.

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Measure of a Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents’ Tailor By Wynton Hall, Author and Young America’s foundation Director & Alumnus

reuTers cAlls him “The mosT inTeresTing mAn in The world.” GQ Magazine hails him “America’s greatest living

heart even still. It’s a cruel thing, feeling guilty for surviving. But my father erased any future guilt and replaced it with purpose. It was a gift only a father’s wisdom could give.” After narrowly surviving brutal beatings at Auschwitz and the 25-mile snow-covered “Death March” from Buna to Gleiwitz, Martin Greenfield was then transferred to the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp before being liberated by his hero, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Later, Greenfield made suits for Eisenhower when he became President. Martin arrived in America at 19. Penniless, he began working at a Brooklyn suit factory as a floor boy. While working with other immigrant laborers, Martin says he would often get into arguments with fellow workers who spoke well of socialism and communism. “I couldn’t believe their ignorant embrace of failed ideologies,” writes Greenfield. “‘You were born here,’ I told them. ‘You’ve never had the Russian Communists come in and seize everything. I have. Communism is not what you say it is. It is theft and murder. It’s a lie.’”

tailor.” But in 1944 at the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp, Martin Greenfield, then just 15 years old, was simply known by the prisoner number tattooed into his arm—A4406. Now, for the first time, Martin Greenfield—suit maker to U.S. Presidents, Hollywood stars, and the world’s most powerful men—tells his epic life story in a new book titled Measure of a Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents’ Tailor (Regnery). “It’s a remarkable book,” said conservative talk radio star Mark Levin during an on-air reading from Greenfield’s book. Martin Greenfield, who is himself a Young America’s Foundation supporter, grew up in the tiny town of Pavlovo, Czechoslovakia. In April 1944, his parents, grandparents, two sisters, and baby brother were all rounded up by the Nazis and taken to the Mukacevo ghetto for a month before being transported by train to Auschwitz. There, Greenfield and his family came face-to-face with the notorious “Angel of Death,” Nazi physician Josef Mengele. Mengele sent his mother, grandparents, sisters, and baby brother to the left; Martin and his father went to the right. “I did not know it then, but with a flick of his baton, Mengele had sealed our family’s fate,” writes Greenfield. That was the last time he ever saw them. The first night inside Auschwitz his father said they must separate so as not to suffer double. “On your own, you will survive,” Greenfield’s father told him. “You are young and strong, and I know you will survive. If you survive by yourself, you must honor us by living, by not feeling sorry for us. This is what you must do.” Martin never saw his father again after those words. Wynton Hall, Martin Greenfield, and Steve Buscemi visit the set of HBO’s Boardwalk “I’m grateful for my father’s words of grace Empire, for which Greenfield Clothiers made more than 600 suits worn by the hit show’s cast. and guidance,” says Greenfield. “They echo in my 30

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Today, Holocaust survivor Martin Greenfield’s company, Martin Greenfield Clothiers, produces hand-tailored suits for everyone from United States Presidents to athletes and celebrities.

Greenfield spent the next 30 years working at the suit factory before buying it himself. Today, Martin Greenfield Clothiers employs 120 workers and is considered America’s finest hand-tailored menswear maker. Greenfield has dressed everyone from Presidents to Hollywood stars, including: Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama; Senator Bob Dole; General Colin Powell; Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Al Pacino; Leonardo DiCaprio; Steve Buscemi; James Spader; Denzel Washington; Jimmy Fallon; Shaquille O’Neal; LeBron James; Paul Newman; Frank Sinatra; and a myriad of others. Greenfield says his passion for fashion is only surpassed by his love for his family and America. “There isn’t a person who loves America more than I do,” writes Greenfield. “The United States is the best damn country the world has ever known. Anyone who questions that hasn’t been where I’ve been, hasn’t seen what I’ve seen.” Greenfield says when he came to America, he instantly fell in love with the Constitution. “The Constitution—the radical idea that people should control the government, not the other way around— astounded me,” writes Greenfield. “I loved it all the more

because I knew how revolutionary and rare an idea that truly was.” Now 86, Greenfield says he wants young Americans to learn the horrors of the Holocaust so they can spot the signs of tyranny now and in the future. Moreover, Greenfield says young Americans must always remain grateful for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who keep the torch of liberty alight. “The men and women of the U.S. military liberated the concentration camps and razed the crematoria. They rescued me,” writes Greenfield. “I am overwhelmed with gratitude for those brave enough to serve—and for the loving spouses and children who support them.” ———————————————————————————————

Wynton Hall is the co-author of Measure of a Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents’ Tailor. He is a Young America’s Foundation alumnus and member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Hall is also the owner of Wynton Hall & Co., a celebrity ghostwriting agency responsible for numerous New York Times bestselling books. Hall has ghostwritten or co-authored 17 books and is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

If sitting back while the Left indoctrinates our young people is not an option for you...

...then you are ready to join the most patriotic, freedom-loving Americans who include Young America’s Foundation in their estate plans. The Left controls our schools, but the future belongs to young people. Young America’s Foundation is the largest, most effective youth outreach organization in the Conservative Movement. We recruit and inspire America’s most promising young leaders to spread a love for freedom on their campuses. By reaching increasing numbers of impressionable young people, we will eliminate the Left’s advantage at our schools. You can make a gift through your estate that will change lives, control what young people learn about America and freedom, and define your legacy on your terms. Please contact Kimberly Begg, Esq., vice president and general counsel, at 800-USA-1776 or kbegg@yaf.org to request a free, noobligation copy of Young America’s Foundation’s popular Investing in the Future estate planning guide and workbook. Supplies are limited and will be sent on a first-come, first-served basis. Bo WorEstate nu kb Plan s: ook ni Incl ng ud ed

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National conferences, Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise programs, National Journalism Center internships

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Reagan Ranch & Reagan Ranch Center conferences, seminars, and internships

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Today’s rising Campus Leaders By raj Kannappan, Director of YAf Chapter Services

oung America’s Foundation’s chapter affiliate, Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), provides young conservatives with unmatched resources, training, and activism initiatives to advance freedom at their schools nationwide. President Reagan underscored the importance of young conservatives— particularly members of Young Americans for Freedom—standing strong for their beliefs. He said, “Remember your very title: you are Young Americans for Freedom. That is your mission above all others. You are most important in this particular moment of history, because so many of your peers have listened to false prophets and demagogues.” Today, YAF chapter leaders around the country are actively advancing freedom on their campuses and beyond. Ronald Reagan would be proud of these students, and we are honored to feature a selection of these dedicated and inspiring Young Americans for Freedom.

High school activist Kaitlyn Anderson meets with Michael Reagan, author and son of President Reagan, at the Reagan Ranch Center.

Kaitlyn Anderson Canyon High School (New Braunfels, Texas) What does Young Americans for Freedom mean to you? Young Americans for Freedom means that I can fight for what I believe in, stand up for what is right, and take action against apathy and misinformation. After becoming involved with YAF, I realized that I could use my interests and passions to be an activist—all while having the time of my life! What is your favorite campus event that you organized? What was the impact of this event at your school? For the past two years, my chapter has organized the 9/11: Never Forget Project. We place 2,977 flags on our school lawn to honor each victim of 9/11. Most high school students can barely remember September 11, 2001, and this poignant project allows them to understand the impact of that day on our country. The student body and the community are very supportive of this effort, and the local newspaper and television station have covered it both years. (Continued on page 34) Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

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How did attending a Foundation conference or seminar affect you and your chapter? Each conference I attend inspires and equips me to defend and share my beliefs. YAF conferences are great places to network and strategize with other young activists. It is refreshing to meet other students who share my beliefs! I take everything I learn back to my chapter, and we put it into action right away.

Justus Hanson Kearney High School (Kearney, Nebraska) What does Young Americans for Freedom mean to you? Young Americans for Freedom is a symbol of hope and optimism for my campus and community. This organization has shown me that students, when given the opportunity to showcase their patriotism, will want to participate and make a positive difference. It has made me hopeful for the future of our nation. What is your favorite campus event that you organized? What was the impact of this event at your school?

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Which conservative leader do you look up to? Sarah Palin is my role model. To be an active conservative on a high school campus, you have to be brave and have a thick skin. Sarah Palin has been mocked and ridiculed but remains graceful and strong in her beliefs.

was Chuck Ogle, a Vietnam veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and senior vice commander of the Disabled American Veterans of Nebraska. Our community was very excited to honor our nation’s heroes at a program that was organized by high school students. Many people told me attending this event was going to become their new family tradition every Veterans Day. How did attending a Foundation conference or seminar affect you and your chapter? In 2014, I attended Young America’s Foundation’s National High School Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. This conference gave me the knowledge and confidence to efficiently and wisely run my future YAF chapter.

Which conservative leader do you look up My favorite event was the to? Justus Hanson introduces himself during the Foundation’s 2014 first annual Kearney Area National High School Leadership Conference just outside of Veterans Day Program, Not only do I look up to Washington, D.C. which was also the first conservatives who fight for community-wide Veterans Day program organized the truth in Washington and on the state level, but I in my area. The night included patriotic musical also look up to the everyday American conservatives— performances as well as speeches from Nebraska people who live out, and do not waver from, their beliefs. (Continued on page 36) government and religious officials. Our main speaker 34

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40 people helped set up the memorial, and hundreds stopped by throughout the day. All the major media outlets in the area also covered the project.

What does Young Americans for Freedom mean to you?

How did attending a Foundation conference or seminar affect you and your chapter?

YAF gives me hope for future generations. If we can continue to grow this incredible organization, our country will continue to be that “shining city on the hill” that Ronald Reagan so often referred to. It is the folks involved with YAF that are truly passing on the torch of freedom.

In the fall of 2013, I attended my first Foundation conference at the Reagan Ranch. To say it changed my life is truly an understatement. Whether it was visiting the Reagan Ranch, networking with like-minded peers, or hearing from incredible speakers, I left that weekend with the confidence I needed to effectively lead my YAF chapter. When our chapter was in its early stages, I came to rely on and seek support from the other students I met at the conference. Many had been through the same process and were happy to help. If you are serious about promoting conservative principles on your campus, there is no better place to start than a YAF conference. The organization provides you with the tools, resources, and support that you need.

What is your favorite campus event that you organized? What was the impact of this event at your school? The 9/11: Never Forget Project had a tremendous impact on our campus. It was the first memorial set up on campus in honor of the victims of 9/11. Students and faculty members stopped in their tracks as they approached the memorial. It was a humbling and unforgettable experience. More than

Which conservative leader do you look up to?

University of Tennessee-Knoxville student leader Michael Hensley speaks to his peers during the 2013 Fall Conference at the Reagan Ranch.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

While there are a number of conservatives I look up to, few have had a greater impact on me than my very own congressman, John J. Duncan, Jr. For many decades, he has been a fearless champion of freedom in our country. Although he has received pushback from other public officials and constituents, he has always stayed true to the conservative values and principles that shaped him. (He also donated his first paycheck as a grocery store bagboy to Barry Goldwater!)

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emily Jashinsky The George Washington University What does Young Americans for Freedom mean to you?

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leading figures, and the actions of the leftists only underscored that conservatives are the real champions of free speech in this country! How did attending a Foundation conference or seminar affect you and your chapter?

YAF conferences invigorate and energize students. They To me, Young Americans for Freedom is the home for are incredibly impressive to most students for a number conservative students on campus. No other organization can offer the level of commitment and support that YAF does. YAF eagerly provides the tools necessary to fight liberal bias on campus and embolden conservatives to feel comfortable in their ideological skins. Fewer students have made the infamous conversion to liberalism during their college years because of the work that YAF does. When I think of YAF, I think about the incredible network of support I have developed by being a part of this Emily Jashinsky serves as the YAF leader at The George Washington University and joined the Foundation’s staff organization. full time upon graduation this spring. What is your favorite campus event that you organized? What was the impact of this event at your school? In 2012, we hosted Phyllis Schlafly on campus. Two nights before the event, feminists ignited a social media firestorm over Schlafly’s visit. After being tasked with defending the event, I was disparaged, insulted, and threatened by my liberal peers. A group of 30 students protested the event, screaming in Mrs. Schlafly’s face as she walked down the hallway. They pushed past campus police to get into the room and shouted at Mrs. Schlafly in the middle of her speech. Despite their rude and disruptive antics, the program was a success. A packed room of students heard from one of the Conservative Movement’s

of reasons: the high quality of speakers, the breadth of available resources, and the overall presentation of conservative values. Whenever my chapter sends students to conferences, they return to campus excited to become more involved in such an influential organization. Which conservative leader do you look up to? I’m really inspired by Dana Perino. She’s developed a strong sense of credibility by working hard, being poised, and relying on her natural intelligence. She also has important insights on how to better communicate conservative ideas, which is arguably one of the most important skills conservatives need to have going forward. (Continued on page 38) Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

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Lauren McCue Virginia Tech What does Young Americans for Freedom mean to you? Young Americans for Freedom has been an outlet for self-discovery. I came into college as a biology major unsure of my true calling in life, but through my involvement with YAF, I discovered that I am dedicated to fighting for the conservative cause. I no longer feel like I have to hide my conservative beliefs in order to avoid being ostracized or berated by my peers and professors. The most rewarding part of leading a YAF chapter is seeing other students become proud of their beliefs and join the Conservative Movement. What is your favorite campus event that you organized? What was the impact of this event at your school? My favorite event was a campus lecture featuring Bay Buchanan. The event, titled “Alien Invasion: How Illegal Immigration is Hurting America,” drew more than 300 attendees—three times the capacity of the room! It was the first lecture my club had hosted, and as the chairwoman, it was extremely rewarding to see how proud my members were to be involved with YAF. Our bold activism faced protests from leftist students and faculty attempting to censor our speech. Ultimately, our club’s funding was cut. Thanks to Young America’s Foundation’s staff, we received widespread media coverage, ranging from the campus newspaper and local radio station to Fox News programs such as Cavuto, Outnumbered, and Fox & Friends. In the end, my chapter’s funding was reinstated. This event was an incredible learning experience and showed me how supportive and influential the Conservative Movement can be. How did attending a Foundation conference or seminar affect you and your chapter? Every conference I have attended greatly contributed 38

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Spring 2015

Lauren McCue leads the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at Virginia Tech.

to my personal growth as well as the development of my newly founded chapter. It was an emotional experience to walk in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps at the Reagan Ranch in California. At the Foundation’s 2014 “A Time for Choosing: The Next Generation” conference, I gained invaluable insight into who Reagan was as a man and what made him an extraordinary leader. The YAF Activism Training seminar also gave me the tools to most effectively achieve the goals I had for my new chapter. There, I brainstormed with other YAFers from across the country and came up with ways to promote our Bay Buchanan event. I also learned how to brand my chapter to maximize our impact on campus. Which conservative leader do you look up to? Ronald Reagan is the most admirable leader this country has had. His boldness and dedication to America’s founding principles truly helped this country remain exceptional. Ronald Reagan was a man of compassion and stayed true to what he knew in his heart was right. He understood that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” a phrase I have taken up as my life motto.

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Spring 2015 Volume 36 • Number 1

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igh school students from around the country enjoy a reception on the Mr. & Mrs. Alwal Anheuser Beims Moore Rooftop Terrace at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California.